No Stone Unturned
by firefly-hwufanficwriter
Summary: (Senku/Kohaku.) "Taking me to Ishigami Village, getting out Byakuya's glass record…" Senku spoke some more, then paused. "You're always the one doing it, aren't you?" (How did the scientist fall in love with the lioness? A friendship- and science-focused retelling of Dr. Stone from Senku's perspective.)
1. Ruri

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

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**Chapter One: Ruri**

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"…Shall we go to the banquet, then? With everybody."

Ruri and the rest of the group descended the tower together, chatting about the mysterious one hundredth tale that had been waiting for three thousand seven hundred years to be told. As Kohaku, Chrome, and Suika made their way to the bonfires, Ruri caught Senku's eye, and, without a word spoken between them, she led him down a rarely used bridge.

Her companion didn't ask questions, content to follow her for now. After hearing about all the incredible things he had done, Ruri knew that he was wise enough to discern that she had led him away from the others for a reason.

And it was strange that after the years that Ruri had spent memorizing every single word of the Hundred Tales, there was something else, something closer to her heart, that she needed to talk about during the very first time she was alone with Ishigami Senku.

She stopped in the middle of the bridge and looked out at the edge of the water, taking a deep breath and enjoying the fact that she could. Senku, still silent, faced the same direction, placing his hands on the rope barrier as he waited for her to speak.

When she finally did, Ruri told him about herself and Kohaku.

This story wasn't nearly as grand as the one she had told everybody earlier, but Ruri saw that Senku still listened with the same level of close attention. And when she was finished…

"So that's why the lioness didn't trust Gen at first," Senku mused.

"After what I had done, Kohaku made sure she would never be fooled by words again. But it only…"

_It only worked because it was me._

"After that, she still fetched hot spring water for me everyday, but she didn't stay anymore. As soon as she emptied her pot, Kohaku would run. But one day, she was away for the whole day and the whole night. And when she came back, I knew something had happened, because her hair was tied differently from before."

Ruri thought she saw Senku smile out of the corner of her eye, but when he didn't say anything, she continued.

"Little by little, Kohaku started to tell me things…"

* * *

_"Here's your hot water, Ruri-nee. I'm glad I was able to escape Chrome for a while."_

_After thanking her sister for the second batch of hot water, Ruri couldn't help but ask, "Escape Chrome?"_

_Kohaku nodded. "Last night, I really tried my best to hold on, but he made me fall off a tree. I just couldn't take it anymore," she said, shuddering._

_"Anyway," her sister continued, "I should be getting back – he's all alone with Chrome." With that, Kohaku smiled and gave her a wave before running to the bridge that separated the tower and the arena from the rest of Ishigami Village._

_Still confused, Ruri waved back before falling into a somber silence. She had missed Chrome very much during the years… but he must have changed a great deal during their time apart if he was now the type of man who would push Kohaku off a tree and make her feel relieved that she was able to escape._

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_"Did you know that we're moving around the sun, Ruri-nee?"_

_"You should have seen it; he said it was called 'electricity.'"_

_"Look! Isn't it pretty, Ruri-nee? It's like ice that doesn't melt!"_

_"Chrome's been practicing his fighting for you, Ruri-nee__."_

* * *

"…and things changed. She would drop off the hot spring water for me, and then, after telling me a little about her day, Kohaku would **_run._**"

Senku chuckled.

"She ran before, and she's running now? Aside from the talking thing, that sounds 10 billion percent the same to me."

And Ruri tried, the best way she could, to explain to the man beside her how different it was, and what it meant to Ruri to see Kohaku change from somebody who **_ran away_** because she couldn't bear to look at her dying sister to somebody who **_ran to_** good people and delicious food and non-melting ice; who **_ran to_** a new friend who showed Kohaku a life beyond the monotonous, backbreaking work of bringing her sister healing water to delay her death by inches.

Her sister's giggles about her new friend's reaction to Chrome's endless questions; the glazed look in her eyes as she tried to describe to Ruri how delicious chewy foxtail grass soup was; her laughter as she told Ruri how she once had to carry that new friend up a mountain like a kitten; the frown that Kohaku determinedly tried to keep on her face as she grumbled about the irritating man who called her a lioness…

…the looks of wonder, and exasperation, and cheerfulness, and worry, and **_hope_** that Ruri saw in Kohaku's eyes during her brief visits; looks that filled Ruri with indescribable joy because her beloved sister was no longer alone in the world…

Ruri was grateful.

_Thank you, Senku._

After a few more minutes of conversation, Ruri knew it was time. Solemnly, she turned and walked across the rest of the bridge and into the forest, knowing by his quiet steps that Senku was following her lead.

As they both made their way through the trees, she spoke.

"The last part of the story is a message from your father. I thought you're the only one who should hear it…"

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_"Ruri-nee, Senku said… that it wasn't useless. All those years… they made a difference."_

_Ruri knew that she was holding in her hands a jar of medicine that would save her life._

_But, in that moment, all she could see was the utterly lovely shade of blue Kohaku's eyes had turned as she told Ruri that Senku said all those years of carrying hot spring water, day after day, had mattered._

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(End of Chapter One.) (01/11/19.)

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**I. My personal comments:** If there's anybody in the whole world who loves Kohaku enough to analyze her every smile and laugh and facial expression, it's Ruri ^_^ I wanted to share this chapter with you because, during the course of this fanfic, even if Senku doesn't fully realize the effect he has on the people around him, there ARE characters in the story who are making their own observations. Ruri is one example, and Gen, when he shows up, will be another :) And more characters, of course! Unfortunately, because this fanfic is from Senku's perspective, we're going to get his dense version of events most of the time XD The next chapter will be from Senku's perspective :D

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**II. Important author's notes:**

Hello, everybody! :) Thank you very much for reading the first chapter of my fanfic! :) In writing this story, my number one goal is to write a Senku/Kohaku fanfic that is one hundred percent in-character, and my second goal is to make this story one hundred percent canon-compliant ^_^ This fanfic will explore Senku and Kohaku's friendships and relationships both with each other and with the other characters (for example, Kohaku and Ruri's sisterly relationship).

I also wanted to let you know that this fanfic will be a slow burn romance ^_^ If that isn't the kind of story you're looking for, I'll understand if you choose to not continue reading this fanfic, but thank you for reading this first chapter and giving this story a chance! :D

_"If you're already at your limit... I'll go all in with the little gunpowder I have left and try risking it to blow this off of you. But if you can hold out... then it'll take enough time to make you wanna die, but I'll be able to save you 10 billion percent!" _Remember when Senku said that to Kohaku the day they met? :D

To the readers who decide to stay, I'm telling you now, this Senku/Kohaku fanfic will be slow burn... _**so incredibly slow burn**_ that "it'll take enough time to make you wanna die." To quote the work-in-progress dearest to my heart, _"Love grew from moments spent together; from shared interests; from confiding in each other and sharing problems and giving advice; from affection and respect."_ That's the kind of Senku/Kohaku fanfic this will be: shared moments, confiding in each other, affection, respect. And if you decide that that's the kind of fanfic you want to read, thank you so much for staying! ^_^

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**III. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter One ("Ruri")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	2. (S01 E07a) Lioness

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

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**To my awesome reviewers (03/11/19):** Hello, ColdDecemberNight, Lu-chan 16love, CELESTE kaomy-chan, VicariousLady89, BeeTee, and Guest! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing No Stone Unturned's very first chapter! I really appreciate it! :D As a writer, it's super encouraging to hear from you! I really love the Senku/Kohaku pairing, so I'm glad that you like it too! :D I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

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**Chapter Two: (S01 E07a) Lioness**

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Senku and the girl he met yesterday walked through the forest, with Kohaku slightly in front, carrying a large earthenware pot, and Senku following her. Kohaku seemed familiar with the area, never showing any signs of hesitation.

"That long-haired guy from earlier…" said Kohaku, glancing back at him, "…you're fighting with him, right?"

That, in Senku's opinion, was an understatement. Two days ago, Senku had been dead, killed by Tsukasa's blow to his cervical nerve. If Taiju and Yuzuriha hadn't figured out what Senku's plan had been, that would have been the end of their plan to save all of humanity.

He nodded in response.

"Let's work together then! I can't shamelessly back down from him either."

Why did Kohaku fight Tsukasa in the first place? Tsukasa's focus on youth meant that he wouldn't have gone out of his way to hurt her if they had crossed paths by chance.

Well, whatever the reason for their fight had been, Senku knew that Tsukasa's immediate goal would have been to secure the Cave of Miracles… yet even after their altercation, Tsukasa had chosen to trap her under a fallen tree trunk instead of resorting to other methods to immobilize her.

Tsukasa had chosen not to stay because he had plans for the Cave of Miracles – plans that were in direct opposition to Senku's. And because Senku was fighting for the lives of seven billion people, he couldn't back down from Tsukasa either.

"Right," he said to Kohaku as he followed her. "That's why I'm going to create a country of science."

"Science? You mean that sorcery?"

_Sorcery? Does she mean the pulleys?_

No, that wasn't right – she had seen him make it out of wood, dirt and knotted rope. And soap, which he admitted was a scientific item, but he had only used it to avoid the ropes fraying due to friction.

It was a simple mechanism, the pulley. Still, it had taken Senku several hours to make it, because he had only been one person working on it. It was just like his first six months after waking up – living in this stone world, working alone day after day, he could barely survive. That was why human beings preferred living in communities – for safety in numbers as well as for manpower for shared labor. With a community came more time for individuals to prepare and plan and dream and look beyond survival.

"Anyway," he said, "first things first. We need manpower."

Kohaku nodded.

"Then you should come with me. I was going to head back after getting some hot water."

As they stepped out of the forest, Senku laid eyes on… hot springs?

From her familiarity with the forest and the pot she was carrying, Kohaku probably come here quite often. But why did she need hot water?

"Hot water?"

He watched Kohaku kneel at the edge of the hot spring and dip the pot in the water, waiting for it to fill up. When it was full, she put her right foot in front and pushed herself up, spilling a little water in the process as she stood.

"I make a hot springs bath out of this by bringing it back home. For recovery purposes, that is."

_Recovery purposes?_

Depending on the nearby land deposits, Senku knew that hot springs in Japan could hold a variety of minerals.

_Aluminum, calcium, carbonic acid, hydrogen sulfide, magnesium, potassium, sulfate, zinc…_

Hot springs were formed when water from the earth's first layer, the crust, fell into its second layer, the mantle. Because of the mantle's significantly higher temperature, surface water that made its way there was eventually sent back up as very hot water, or very hot gas – the two main components of a basic hot spring. The heat from both would dissolve minerals in their journey from the earth's mantle to the earth's crust, bringing their curative benefits to the surface.

However, not all hot springs were all the same, because different parts of the world had different minerals. A hot spring in a mountainous region would have different minerals from one in a volcanic region. In fact, even hot springs relatively close to each other could still have different mineral compositions based on the layers of rock underneath, opening a world of possibilities in healing.

But that didn't really explain why Kohaku needed the hot water.

"No matter how I look at you, you're 10 billion percent the very picture of health," Senku said incredulously. "Why would a perky, vivacious lioness possibly need to get any healthier?"

"I'm not a lioness!"

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(End of Chapter Two.) (03/11/19.)

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**I. My personal comments:** Readers who were here during the first two weeks of this fanfic will know that this chapter was this story's original Chapter One ^_^ Ahh, the very first time Senku calls Kohaku a lioness... :D

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku and Kohaku's first meeting? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Two ("Lioness")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	3. (S01 E07b) Blowing Bubbles

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

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**To my awesome reviewers (05/11/19):** Hello and hola, Kirana Retsu, CELESTE kaomy-chan, and Lu-chan 16Love! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the second chapter of No Stone Unturned! It's great to see that you're here reading my fanfic! :D (And to Kirana Retsu… you actually took the time and trouble to read my story using Google Translate? Wow! Estoy muy feliz! Muchas gracias!) I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

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**Chapter Three: (S01 E07b) Blowing Bubbles**

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"How many people? Let's see…" Kohaku tilted her head down to get a better view of the village in the distance. "That's Shovel running to Shou… Arumi and Natori sitting on a bench… Namari drawing on a piece of leather and Sagan drying fish on the roof…"

Senku shot her a strange look.

_Seriously?! She can see all of that from this far- wait…_

Those names sounded familiar.

_Shovel, a tool for digging… Shou, sunken rock… Arumi, aluminum… Natori, sodium… Namari, lead… Sagan, sandstone…_

As they walked down the mountain, Kohaku continued.

"…Berry and Shirogane are holding those baskets filled with mushrooms, Azura and Sango are washing clothes, that's Carbo preparing that boar, Unmo's helping Kaseki fix the straw on that roof…"

_There's no mistaking it, _thought Senku._ Berry, beryllium… Shirogane, white gold… Azura, azurite… Sango, coral… Carbo, carbon… Unmo, mica… Kaseki, fossil… somebody must have taught them all these words. But who?_

After reaching the rope bridge, Kohaku steadied the pot in her arms so that she could maintain her balance as she walked.

"…I don't know exactly how many children and elderly we have, but aside from them, there's… about forty of us!"

_Forty people in a settlement like this? Where did they come from? Was there a scientist before me who broke out of the petrification? But to get to all this… several people would have had to be depetrified at the same time. Maybe a group of mathematicians who counted like I did? Or possibly just one scientist like me, who broke free and discovered the formula for the revival fluid?_

Suddenly, two shadows leaped toward him, weapons drawn…

_What's happening-_

…only for Kohaku to overwhelm both of them in an impressive display of acrobatics that gave her the reach to block their attacks before quickly dropping to the ground right in front of Senku.

Defeated for now, the two shadows – who turned out to be two guys around Senku's age – fell back warily.

"Stop attacking us, Kinro, Ginro!" she scolded. "My life was saved by this man!"

As they told her that somebody saving her life was no reason for them to let that certain somebody enter their village, Senku moved to the side to get a better look at the two men, who seemed to be the village's guards. The blonde one kept sneaking perplexed looks at Senku, as if he had never seen an outsider before, while the stern, black-haired one unapologetically reminded Kohaku that rules were rules.

"Oh? If that's really what you're saying, then what has to happen has to happen," said Kohaku casually, her tightened grip on her left dagger starkly contrasting her light tone. "Looks like I'm just going to have to fight both of you. You two will go easy on me, right? You're sure to win! This is two against one, after all…"

While Senku knew that eyes couldn't possibly change color after a child entered adolescence, from what he just saw, he could almost believe that during her taunting, the normal color of Kohaku's eyes had turned into the unyielding blue shade of chalcanthite.

Then an idea occurred to him.

Chuckling, Senku walked up to Kohaku's pot and dipped his fingers in the water.

"This whole situation looks ready to blow. And that's one scaaaaary face you're making to top it off."

After fishing his trusty bar of primitive soap out of one of his bags, Senku scooped up some water and rubbed the soap into it. The introduction of the soap decreased the water's surface tension, making the water in Senku's hand thicken into the milky color of soap lather.

Forming a circle with his thumb and forefinger, he breathed out a long puff of air and watched as the combination of water, soap and air left his fingers and instantly formed into several spheres – the natural form that bubbles normally took due to that particular shape having the smallest surface area to volume ratio.

"Rah!" yelled the taller guard, attacking a bubble, only to see it split off into more, though exponentially smaller, bubbles.

"Wow, these jewels… are just floating… so pretty… how…?" wondered the other one, trying to jump up to reach them.

While the two guards were mystified with the bubbles' color-changing properties, which were nothing more than light reflecting between each bubble's inner hydrophilic layer and outer hydrophobic layer, Senku was gaining valuable information.

"Ahhhhh, now I see their level…" Senku grinned, continuing to watch their increasing confusion at something so simple that even children from his era had no problem enjoying.

_If they don't even know what bubbles are… this will be a piece of cake._

"Alright, I accept! Forty people, I'll take all forty of them…"

Senku could see it in his mind's eye - the whole village cheering at the new innovations brought to their lives, and himself, controlling a giant robot and waving his flag of science as he led them into the future.

"I'll get forty of these people using science they've never seen before… all those allies, all that manpower…" He laughed lowly as he spread his fingers, easily imagining all of them in the palm of his hand. "Now this is getting me excited…!"

He heard Kohaku cough.

"Speaking of scary faces… I think yours tops them all," she said flatly.

Then she paused, thinking.

"But if that's your plan, then to start off… you should get Chrome!"

"Who's that?"

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(End of Chapter Three.) (05/11/19.)

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**I. My personal comments:** Kohaku defending Senku... :) I had to learn about how bubbles were made to write this chapter XD Before this, I had no idea that bubbles had multiple layers! O.o

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Senku's scientific way of looking at bubbles? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Three ("Blowing Bubbles")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	4. (S01 E07c) Sulfur Ball

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

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**To my awesome reviewers (07/11/19):** Hello and hola, Kirana Retsu, giacomoX, Lu-chan 16Love, and Guest! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the third chapter of No Stone Unturned! The arithmetic battle was longer in the manga (it had a side story) than it was in the anime, actually. It was short, but still funny! :D Kohaku tenga muchas qualidades buenas, y yo quiero escribir las qualidades en aqui fanfic! And I'm glad you thought Chrome was funny! He's a very enthusiastic character, isn't he? :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

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**Chapter Four: (S01 E07c) Sulfur Ball**

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As it turned out, Chrome was a self-proclaimed sorcerer who believed that salt, copper sulfate, and sulfur flame colors and a sulfur ball's static electricity were due to sorcery.

"Were these all your ideas, Chrome? You have all kinds of scientific minerals in that shed of yours…" Senku glanced up at the storehouse, "did you go around all by yourself, gathering everything you have in there?"

"Exactly! But what's it to you?" Chrome replied defensively.

He then told Senku about what he had done throughout his childhood, which he had spent collecting everything – experimenting with mixing and burning and melting.

Senku smiled in satisfaction.

The flame tests were something kids learned in elementary school, and it was easy enough to throw random particles into fires to see what would happen. Melting greater amounts of minerals was more interesting, but also more risky, due to certain chemical gasses having detrimental or even deadly effects.

In the course of his collecting, Chrome had probably obtained a significant amount of sulfur. It was one of the most common minerals in the world, making up for almost three percent of the planet's composition. If somebody were to take all the sulfur on the planet and put them together, there would be enough to form two new moons.

Because sulfur was easy to find, it was easy to replace, and therefore convenient to experiment with. Not satisfied with just creating colored fire, Chrome had taken several pieces of it, melted it at 115.21 degrees Celsius, waited for it to cool down, and broke the earthenware pot to see his new creation.

If he had rubbed his hands on his clothes before touching the ball, the friction would have resulted in static electricity. And from there, Senku could see his way of thinking – if rubbing the sulfur ball a little with his hand could create a bit of energy, then rubbing it a lot would create even more energy.

_Even if he didn't know what he was doing was experimenting, that was exactly what he was doing. And even if Tsukasa kills me, there will always me crazy idiots like this Chrome, who'll try everything they can think of with everything they can get their hands on… because nobody can stop science!_

With that in mind, Senku stepped up to Chrome and explained the situation – since he, Senku, was starting a kingdom of science to fight against a certain somebody else who was ridiculously overpowered in the stone world, then Chrome, who would certainly be one of Tsukasa's targets, would surely be completely fine with handing over all the scientific materials he had collected over a long period of time to somebody he had just met.

_He had salt… although that's one of the easiest things to get… but what else does he have up there? Chrome could have anything!_ thought Senku gleefully, climbing up the ladder to get inside Chrome's mysterious scientific treasure trove. _Copper and sulfur… sulfur is usually found near hot springs or volcanoes… and if he found sulfur, he might also have barite… gypsum… pyrite…_

"Of course I'm not just going to give you all my stuff!" he heard Chrome screech. "Get back down here!"

Already halfway up the ladder, Senku looked down at a seething Chrome, then up at the door that was blocking Senku's view of all those secret scientific materials. He glanced at both back and forth.

_Chrome. Scientific materials. Chrome. Scientific materials._

_…Scientific materials, obviously!_

He started moving upwards again. In Senku's opinion, there wasn't really any point in being _out here_ when all those scientific materials were _in there._

"What- hey! Oh… fine then! If you won't listen, then just face me one-on one! Let's have a duel!"

Senku paused, listening.

"If I win, you ask for my forgiveness on your knees and leave this village forever… and if you win, I'll give you every single thing inside my sorcery shed!"

After pondering Chrome's challenge for a moment, Senku jumped down to the ground.

"You want to duel?"

"Yeah! I'm going to show you crazy techniques you've never seen before! Just you wait! I'll totally defeat you!" Chrome stepped forward in determination and pointed a finger at him. "So get ready… for our arithmetic duel!"

_Arithmetic? I wasn't expecting that._

Meanwhile, an exasperated Kohaku shook her head. "Why do I get the feeling you won't even be a match for Senku?" she muttered, before moving to stand behind him.

On the other side were Chrome, who looked all fired up, and Kinro and Ginro, who both seemed mildly interested.

Between them and to the side stood the scientific storage shed.

"Get ready for my super technique… my incredible arithmetic…" said Chrome, putting his hands in a frenzied grasping position over his head, as if between his fingers were a fireball that he was going to launch at Senku and Kohaku.

He continued, "Here I go… what do you get… when you have eight sets of eight?!"

And Chrome fired his imaginary fireball… although from the duration his hands spent in firing position, he seemed to be imagining firing some sort of powerful laser beam instead.

_Not that he knows what a laser beam is, but anyway… Eight sets of eight? Easy._

"Sixty-four," he replied easily – although what Senku hadn't expected was Kohaku, who was now next to him, speaking the same number at exactly the same time.

_Do they study arithmetic here?_

Apparently not, judging by Chrome's absolutely gobsmacked expression.

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(End of Chapter Four.) (07/11/19.)

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**I. My personal comments:** The arithmetic battle is quite amusing in the manga - especially the last part! XD

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku's priorities? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Four ("Sulfur Ball")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	5. Chrome

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

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**To my awesome reviewers (09/11/19):** Hello and hola, Lu-chan 16Love, Kirana Retsu, and CELESTE kaomy-chan! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the fourth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Senku has now met Kohaku in battle, and... he totally lost XD Tambien, Senku no ganar con tres otras chicos! La guerra con los manos es no punto fuerte de Senku! But he did get to teach the other guys at the end about arithmetic :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

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**Chapter Five: Chrome**

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Chrome tried his best to fall asleep, but every time he closed his eyes, they would instantly open back up, unwilling to rest after the incredible things he had heard from Senku, trying to see the past that had been swallowed up by the petrification.

_My human ancestors… made metal houses that could fly… and they even walked on the moon? And… arms from metal? They used their science to heal? Senku said he knew about a cure-all…_

Deciding to leave his collection shed to get some air, Chrome tiptoed past a sleeping Senku to open the door and tried to descend using the ladder as slowly as possible so that his new friend wouldn't be disturbed.

A voice made him realize he wasn't alone.

"Chrome? You're still awake?"

It looked like his absentminded walking had led him to Kohaku's favorite tree.

Hearing Kohaku's voice made Chrome wonder how she had crossed paths with Senku. While he had only known Senku for several hours, Chrome had known Kohaku for many years, and Senku was the first person she had ever brought to the village.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah… me neither."

In fact, until meeting Senku, Chrome had no idea that there were people outside their village who weren't previously exiled criminals. And if, for example, there actually were other villages somewhere out there besides Ishigami, a man wandering in isolation could possibly have been an exiled criminal of one of those communities.

_Well, I won't know until I ask._

"How did you meet Senku?"

Not only that, but out of everybody in Ishigami Village, Kohaku was the most protective of Ruri. Bringing an outsider to the village border would have been a risk, especially one with the scientific knowledge Senku had at his disposal. What had made her take the gamble?

"He created something impossible and saved my life."

_Something impossible?_

Chrome waited for Kohaku to elaborate, but when she didn't, he was left to his thoughts.

Having met her when they were both young, Ruri was one of Chrome's very first friends – but when her illness eventually required her isolation in the Priestess' Tower for her own safety, he began to spend more time with Kohaku, who was the only other person who…

_…who still had hope._

Rain or shine, storm or snow, Kohaku fetched hot spring water for Ruri, and Chrome searched for cures for Ruri. If Senku had made a promise to Kohaku about healing her sister – or, if he had even hinted at the possibility, it would have been the very first thing Kohaku would have told Chrome, and definitely before the sorcery battle began.

_Which means… she doesn't know yet._

"Kohaku… about Ruri… Senku said he knows about some kind of medicine, a cure-all… but we don't have everything we need to make it."

She didn't respond.

"If we get everything, though," he continued, "maybe… there might be a chance…"

_…that Senku can create something impossible and save Ruri's life._

Silence.

Chrome looked up at the stars.

_There's some kind of medicine out there. __One that our human ancestors made. A cure-all… something that can cure everything. __It must be amazing…_

And, after a long time, he heard Kohaku speak.

"I've wanted Ruri-nee to be better… ever since I was old enough to want anything."

"I know."

* * *

After that, they didn't speak for a while, choosing to spend their time together in silence. But Chrome knew that Kohaku felt exactly the same way he did – eager for the next day to begin.

_Tomorrow, I'll ask Senku if we can start making it. And then-_

Quick as lightning, Kohaku was suddenly right in front of him.

"Whoa!" Chrome yelled as he jumped back in surprise. "Kohaku! Don't scare me like that!"

"Tell me," she said urgently, stepping closer to him. "Tell me _everything_ you talked about after I left to bring the hot springs water to Ruri-nee."

"Everything?"

She nodded determinedly before jumping – _it is so not fair how she can jump that high!_ – back up onto her usual tree branch.

"Yes. I want to know everything."

_Actually, _thought Chrome,_ I can see why she wants to know. Senku did tell me a lot of interesting things._

"Alright, then. Let's see… after you left, Senku and I stayed in my collection shed and talked about…"

Chrome went over everything in detail, talking from the late hours of the night until the first rays of sunlight shone over the mountain.

"…and about galena, we talked about it again too and he said that it's normally super shiny when you dig it up but something about the air makes it less shiny after it's been out a while so you have to break it into pieces to see it be shiny again which was funny because I've smashed it to pieces before not this one but other ones and the inside parts were super shiny so he was right and he told me breathing in galena dust can make you really sick so you have to be careful digging it up but touching big pieces is pretty much fine and in his era people usually found galena with other rocks called chalcopyrite and pyrite and sphalerite and tennantite-tetrahedrite…"

Suddenly, he heard a thud.

"Kohaku! What happened? Are you alright?!"

His friend, who had just fallen off her tree, was sprawled out on the ground, dazed, with her eyes almost looking like… spirals?

Chrome coughed.

_Maybe I… shouldn't have talked about rocks so much…_

* * *

(End of Chapter Five.) (09/11/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** I hope you liked this chapter - as you know, it's the second non-Senku chapter! :D Because Chrome and Kohaku have both been working for years to try and cure Ruri, I feel like they would have a special bond, and that Chrome knows Kohaku's heart in a way that very few people do :)

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Chrome's thoughts about Kohaku and Ruri? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Five ("Chrome")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	6. (S01 E08a) True North

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (11/11/19):** Hello and hola, Lu-chan 16Love, VicariousLady89, Kirana Retsu, giacomoX, CELESTE kaomy-chan, and Guest! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the fifth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Kohaku just heard so much about rocks that day that her brain just couldn't take it anymore XD Estoy feliz hacer la oportunidad escribir cerca de la amistad y comprension entre de Kohaku y Chrome! I'm definitely going with canon because while writing Senku in-character will be difficult, it will also be more fun, and MUCH more satisfying! :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Six: (S01 E08a) True North**

* * *

Using his stick, Senku pointed at the comprehensive scientific roadmap he had sketched in the dirt.

"We're going to have to force our way through generations and generations of scientific history," he explained to Chrome and Kohaku. "No taking the scenic route for us – we're basically traveling through time."

Chrome tracked the roadmap backwards with his finger in the air. "If everything starts with that "iron" thing, then we should make it first, right?"

"That's right. Without iron, we won't be able to make the tools and everything else we need."

"If it's that useful, then it must be super important!" Grinning maniacally, Chrome continued, "You have to tell me all about it! Teach me everything!"

"It won't be that easy to explain iron… we'd have to go into geology, climatology, chemical structures of elements, physics theories…"

Already, Kohaku seemed to sway slightly where she was standing.

"This will be Senku-sensei's sorcery… science class? Even if I listen, I don't think I'll understand. And…" she continued, giving Chrome a sideways look, "…I don't think you know what you're getting into, Senku."

Eyes narrowing in slight suspicion, Senku also looked at Chrome.

_What does Kohaku mean by that…?_

* * *

"No, it's not a rock. Iron is a type of metal-"

"It is? Is it in my shed? I've collected everything around here that looked interesting, but if you haven't seen it in my collection, that means we have to go find it, right? Where should we go look? Can we find in a mountain? There are a lot of mountains here and I've explored all of them; do you want to join me? You probably should because you know how it looks like, right? Should we bring big axes, or will smaller ones be fine? And why do we need to have it anyway? What does it have to do with the cure-all?"

"We're going to use it to make magnets-"

"You can make magnets? But you said that the rocks we're going to use are magnets, right? So why do we need more magnets? Or do you need to make a magnet that's bigger than the ones we have for some reason? Are magnets useful for anything besides seeing which way is north? How do magnets even do that, anyway? How come the magnets I found can tell me where north is, but my other rocks can't? A magnet is just a rock, right? How can a rock find north? What makes magnets always point north? Are some magnets more accurate than others? Have you ever made a magnet before? Are they easy to make? How are we going to make them? And are we going to just make one, or more than one? When we make the magnet, how do we teach it how to point north? And how will we…"

* * *

Twelve straight hours of Chrome's questions later, Senku lay weakly on the ground.

_Now I… totally know…what Kohaku meant by that…_

As Chrome expressed his amazement at the Earth's daily rotation and yearly revolution, Kohaku, who unfairly did not look as worn out as Senku despite the fact that she had ducked out of the endless questioning for a while in favor of a couple of hot springs water runs for Ruri, had a question of her own.

"That's so weird. Then why am I not thrown off this branch right now?"

Clearly, Kohaku was no ally of Senku's. Why else would she ask questions of a clearly exhausted man? Nevertheless, more science had to be explained.

"Because of something called gravity…"

And that was all Senku could manage before he had to wheeze for air.

_So… much… explaining…_

After that, Chrome made an observation about the North Star – although he hadn't known what it was called. After staggering to his feet, Senku told him its name and cautioned him to remember the star's purpose... and then he noticed Kohaku peering at the sky.

"True north seems slightly off, if you ask me…"

"That's not possible. The margin of error is…"

He froze.

_It moved. We moved. Even though the Earth's axis only moves by a fraction of a fraction of a percent each year, those fractions of fractions add up over three thousand seven hundred years. The Earth's axis has tilted, and because of that, what was north in my time isn't north anymore…_

Senku laughed self-deprecatingly, putting a hand over his face in embarrassment.

"Some scientist I am, letting my preconceived notions get in the way of what's in front of me, instead of being observant like these two. What a useless guy I am…"

_But now, the best thing to do is to learn from this and apply it to the future. At the very least, now I can make a sextant that actually works, now that I know what went wrong with the last one._

"Ha! Looking at you, Senku, I don't see somebody useless," Kohaku said warmly.

_This was a learning experience. Discovering how to work with new information is exactly what a scientist is supposed to do._

"Yeah, I'm not trying to beat myself up over it," he replied. "After calming down, I can see that it's the scale of things…"

* * *

(End of Chapter Six.) (11/11/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** At first, I had the idea of writing that Senku brushed off Kohaku's warning (and say something like, "I can talk about science all day!"), but I decided to write it the way I did instead. After all, it doesn't make sense for Senku to not listen to Kohaku since he's trusted her so far, right? So instead, Senku got suspicious as well... and, as it turns out, his suspicion was justified XD

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku and Chrome's talking stamina? XD

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Six ("True North")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	7. (S01 E08b) Waterfall Plunge

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (13/11/19):** Hello and hola, Lu-chan 16Love, CELESTE kaomy-chan, and Kirana Retsu, Charley1925, and pikapika! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the sixth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Chrome had so many questions... poor Senku! Eso porque Chrome es muy interesado en las ciencias... y Kohaku sabia el futuro y las muchas preguntas! Senku had to talk for hours and hours and hours... XD That's a really good point about copying too much from canon! O.o Yikes... I have to admit, part of it is because I have some very specific scenes that I'm really looking forward to writing. But I can't right now because they're too far away from where we are now, so I have to get through some canon events first. But I'll keep your comments in mind, and I'll try adjust my outline to include more original scenes! I really appreciate your input! :D (And... pikapika? Wow! Hello! It's been so long! How are you? Thank you for "visiting" me in this fanfic! :D) I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Seven: (S01 E08b) Waterfall Plunge**

* * *

After taking off their footwear and dressing down to clothing more suitable for spending long amounts of time in the water, Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku waded into a river, pouches at their waists and magnets clutched in their hands.

"Iron sand is mostly composed of magnetite," Senku told them as he stooped low with his magnet, "which should be attracted to the magnets Chrome gave us. It's heavier than normal sand, so there should be some at the bottom of this river."

Kohaku also bent down to try, pushing the magnet in her hand into the riverbed for a few moments before holding it back up above the water. Grains of dark grey iron sand were stuck to Kohaku's magnetic rock in rough spikes.

"Whoa, so much is stuck to it! This strange black sand is…?!"

"Yeah," Senku said, idly noting that the mass in Kohaku's hand looked like a small, dark, baby hedgehog, "that's exactly what we're here to get. Iron sand acquired!"

And, for hours after that, the three of them gathered iron sand in the river…

…before a thought occurred to Senku.

* * *

Ten minutes later, throwing caution to the wind, Senku jumped over the edge of the waterfall at the end of the river, holding his clothes above his head as a makeshift parachute to slow down his descent.

_With this much momentum, the effect of wind resistance won't help that much, but it's still something._

Behind him, Chrome, who was being swept down by the current, was hugging a log for dear life.

"But I don't wanna go down a waterfalllll…"

Despite Chrome's preferences, the current didn't seem to want to stop to let him get off his log, so all he could do was hang on, and after two huge splashes, they both made it safely to the bottom…

…only to find that Kohaku was already there – and her magnet was already covered with a new batch of iron sand.

"Kohaku? How did you get down here so fast? And why aren't you wet?" grumbled Chrome as he got off his trusty log.

She blinked.

"I jumped from one rock to another to get down here. Why would I get wet?"

* * *

"Looks like there's way more iron sand down here!" exclaimed Kohaku, whose magnet was getting put to good use. She quickly deposited the sand into her pouch before once more using her rock to attract more. "They just keep coming and coming!"

Chrome, who was collecting sand in shallower water, asked, "You said it was because of the water pressure, Senku?"

He nodded.

"It's because of the difference in speed between rushing water and stagnant water. The pressure from the waterfall pushes the iron sand from up there to down here, and after it gets here, the comparative lack of pressure from the continuing river makes the iron sand lose the momentum it gained while it was in motion, so it stays at the bottom."

"Looks like there's more sand near these rocks," Kohaku observed, emptying her magnet again. "And I didn't even get all of them…"

As she bent her knees to get closer to the water, Senku yawned and absently scraped the iron sand his own magnet had gathered into his pouch for safekeeping. They had been gathering sand at the river for a few hours before the thought of jumping down the waterfall had crossed his mind, and the warm sun was making him want to take a nap.

Deciding that a bit of a break was in order, he took his bamboo canteen and filled it with water from the gushing waterfall before heading to the shore – only to find that Chrome had had the same idea, holding his own bamboo container in one hand as he gripped the side of a rock with the other in order to climb on top of it.

After wading over to Chrome and settling down on a rock next to his, a cool drink of water helped Senku wake up, but he still wanted a bit of a rest. Chrome, who felt the same way, lay down on his side and propped up his head with one hand as they both watched Kohaku gather black sand.

Despite her feet being wet from being in the river, she was still able to maintain her balance as she jumped down rocks to meet them at the bottom of the waterfall…

…but even then, Kohaku didn't seem fatigued, and Senku assumed it was because she was used to the much more gruelling task of fetching hot springs water. He and Chrome observed her bending down with her magnet, getting black sand, placing what she had gathered in her pouch, with the whole process taking only a handful of seconds.

After doing all of that a few times in one place, she moved a couple of steps to do it all over again, going through the tried-and-true motions of stooping, collecting, and depositing until she had exhausted the place were she stood of iron sand. And once she had, Kohaku again moved away to a different part of the water she hadn't searched in yet and repeated the same pattern, gathering materials with meticulous rigor and increasing success in various areas of the water.

_She's collecting a lot. Just watching her get all that iron sand is making me feel tired…_

"This lioness is amazing," commented Senku as he sipped more water from his bamboo canteen. "Are all the people in your village like that?"

Chrome shook his head. "Nope. Kohaku's the only one who's like that."

* * *

(End of Chapter Seven.) (13/11/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** There's a panel in the manga where Chrome looks adorable while he's panicking and hugging a log while going down the waterfall, so I had to include it here! XD And, of course, Senku's "This lioness is amazing" comment is straight from the manga, too. I wish they had included that line in the anime!

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Kohaku's diligence? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Seven ("Waterfall Plunge")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	8. (S01 E08c) Sunflower Field

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (16/11/19):** Hello and hola, Kirana Retsu, Lu-chan 16Love, Aryles, CELESTE kaomy-chan, and VicariousLady89! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the seventh chapter of No Stone Unturned! I really like Senku's lioness nickname for Kohaku, too! Y yo espero tambien que mas gente escribir por Dr. Stone :D Thank you for the comment about being too close to the manga; I'll try harder from now on to include more original scenes! :D And I'm glad the "this lioness is amazing" was in the Spanish subtitles! I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Eight: (S01 E08c) Sunflower Field**

* * *

After Kohaku explained Chrome's feelings for Ruri to Senku, he saw why the man had spent years gathering a massive amount of minerals and plants. While Senku, who would have collected the materials for science's sake, couldn't personally empathize with Chrome's personal motivation, he was still benefiting from the collector's years of hard work. A scientist had to be self-aware, and Senku knew perfectly well that if he had been required to gather everything in that shed by himself, it would have taken- well, maybe not 10 billion years, but close enough.

_Everything there takes us closer to healing this Ruri person and getting the village to join the kingdom of science. But if she knows about wild animals from Momotaro, what else does she know? What other stories has she told everybody?_

After he voiced his questions, Kohaku stumbled for a moment – but as an experienced fighter, she was able to find her balance quickly – and chatted conversationally about her sister's tales as she and Senku walked to where the rest of their things were.

It was a good thing that Kohaku was doing all the talking, because Senku really needed all his energy for the steep path they took.

_The waterfall didn't look _this_ high from up there!_

"Ruri-nee knows lots of stories and long words… she tells us what kinds of fish are good to eat, because there are poisonous kinds as well… and when Chrome started collecting his rocks, she was able to tell him what some of them were…"

When they reached the big rocks where they had left the rest of their clothes, Kohaku continued as they both got dressed.

"…and when babies are born, the fathers and mothers normally go to her to ask what names they should give their kids. I think it was like that with our mother as well…"

"Is that why most of the villagers are named after minerals?"

Kohaku was startled. "Are we?" she asked, picking up her weapons and strapping her shield to her back.

For a moment, Senku was surprised she didn't know, but when he thought about it, it made sense.

_Compared to animals and food, stories about minerals probably aren't the most popular. And even if Kohaku is named after amber, that doesn't mean she's ever seen any. Ninety percent of the world's amber comes from Russia._

_That means that the people she told me about… Arumi, Sagan, Kaseki… they've likely never seen aluminum, sandstone, or fossils, either. But this Ruri, and whoever came before her, suggested those kinds of names. Were they told by the original creator of these stories to do that?_

_If they were, that means that whoever that first storyteller was, he or she knew the value of-_

"Hey, Senku?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering…" said Kohaku slowly, looking to her side at the river they were trailing, "how much iron sand are we going to collect?"

Senku weighed it over in his mind, calculating the density of the iron sand, the volume it would be as molten iron, and the minimum weight of the bar of iron he needed for the magnet.

After arriving at the answer, he replied easily, "Just about enough to fill half of the big pot you use to carry hot spring water."

"We need _THAT_ much?!"

* * *

The next day, while inspecting the color of the river moss closely, Senku nodded to himself.

_This is definitely chatsubomi moss. Which means if I'm right, the chemical we need the most to get things started is nearby. But we don't even have iron yet, let alone glass, so I won't have to go there for a while._

Getting up from his kneeling position, he gave the moss a final look before starting to make his way back to the kingdom of science. With Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika helping to gather iron sand, Senku had decided to take the day to scout the surrounding area for a place high enough to place lightning rods for the magnet he was planning to make, and the discovery of chatsubomi moss meant the day was more productive than he had anticipated.

Taking his time, he walked down the mountain, past Kohaku's hot springs, and eventually reached level ground. As he passed fields of wild grasses and flowers, he began to think about the next steps in the cure-all roadmap.

_Once we get enough iron sand, we'll have to melt it to make iron. But wood can only go up to seven hundred degrees Celsius. The only chance we'll be able to more than double that is if we increase the amount of oxygen in the furnace, which means I should make some-_

"Senku?"

Hearing a familiar voice to his left, Senku turned and saw Suika, who had a bulging pouch attached to her rope belt, peering up at him curiously.

"Did you come to watch the sunflowers too, Senku?"

He blinked and looked around. As it turned out, he was in a field of sunflowers. And from what Suika had just said, it seemed like people in the stone world were so devoid of entertainment that they watched plants for fun.

"Watch the sunflowers?" he clarified.

Nodding, she replied, "Suika likes to watch them sometimes! They face that way in the morning," she said, pointing in one direction, "and that way in the afternoon!" she continued, gesturing to the opposite one.

Senku started to explain why sunflowers did so, but was interrupted by a loud growl from Suika's stomach.

"Oops," Suika giggled, turning slightly red in embarrassment, which should have been impossible to see with a watermelon mask on. "I guess Suika is hungry."

* * *

(End of Chapter Eight.) (16/11/19; 22/11/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** Kohaku has now found out that they need a looot of iron sand XD Also, Senku's first one-on-one conversation with Suika! :D

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku and Kohaku's conversation? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Eight ("Sunflower Field")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	9. (S01 E08d) Iron Sand (Days 01-14)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (24/11/19):** Hello and hola, Kirana Retsu, Lu-chan 16Love, Guest, giacomoX, CELESTE kaomy-chan, Aryles, and Charley1925! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the eighth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Yes, Kohaku has changed, or will change, during the months she spends with Senku and the others gathering iron sand and working towards the cure-all :D Los cambios en Kohaku estan muchos obvios por Ruri, pero no como muchos por la otra gente :P Ruri will definitely be one of the main supporters of Senku and Kohaku's relationship :D Senku is, unfortunately, too dense at the moment to really notice subtle relationship-related thing right now, haha! It will be super slow, but Senku's feelings will develop :D It's pretty far in the future, but I already know when Ruri's next POV chapter will be :D Yup, a time jump to give you all a glimpse in the future! Senku y Kohaku acercaran como la historia continua :D I'm glad you liked this "small moment!" :D We'll be waiting a long time for this hyperintelligent scientist to realize his feelings XD I'll try to be patient; thank you! :D Yup, it's a lot of iron sand to collect for sure... poor Kohaku! XD I am so happy and relieved that many of you are okay with the slow burn romance! I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Nine: (S01 E08d) Iron Sand (Days 01-14)**

* * *

The first week they collected iron sand, Senku and the others didn't get very much.

After seeing the pouches Kohaku had filled that first day, and the one that Suika had with her, Senku chose an earthenware pot from Chrome's things that was the right size for the amount they needed to collect.

The good news was that, as he had said to Kohaku, it was only half the size of her hot spring water pot, volume-wise. But the bad news was that when they poured in the iron sand they had managed to gather in those first two days, the meager amount couldn't even cover the bottom of the pot.

Suika stood on the tips of her toes to be able to peek into the pot.

"We… didn't get very much, did we?"

"Don't worry!" Chrome said encouragingly. "I've been collecting materials for a long time – I know we'll get there!"

Nodding, Kohaku said, "I agree! We just need to work hard… and I mean _all_ of us," she finished, directing a pointed look at Chrome.

"Hey! I worked hard these past couple of days!" he protested. "It's not my fault I'm not a gorilla like-"

All of a sudden, Kohaku's head looked like it had inflated to the size of a hot air balloon as she berated Chrome.

Senku shook his head to clear it and rubbed his eyes. He was sure that he was just seeing things.

For the rest of the week, they returned to the waterfall everyday. Usually, it would be Senku, Chrome, and Suika starting early in the morning, with Kohaku joining them a few hours before lunch after she finished bringing Ruri a couple of pots of hot spring water.

All four had magnets, to dip past the rushing water and down to the riverbed, and pouches to place iron sand in. Each dip of a magnet was different – there were times when the whole magnet would be covered, and times when only half, or even less than half, of it was able to attract the sand they needed. And it all went inside their pouches.

They didn't always stay together. Sometimes, Chrome would check on his traps to see if they had caught anything for dinner that night, and Suika would take walks with Chalk to look at flowers or forage for berries. Kohaku would train to keep her fighting skills in shape, and Senku would cut leather to make new pouches for everybody or inspect nearby areas for mineral deposits.

But they worked hard everyday and placed all their iron sand in the iron sand pot before they split off to set up the campfire for the night. And, by the end of the week, they were able to completely cover the bottom of the pot with iron sand.

* * *

The second week they collected iron sand, Senku started to design a furnace.

While ironmaking required iron sand – or at least their version of it did – the venture also required a furnace, which Chrome unfortunately did not have. When asked, the man had answered that earthenware pots and open fires had been sufficient for his past experiments.

But while a furnace hadn't been needed back then, it certainly was now.

_A cube-like shape would help us heat materials more evenly, _thought Senku._ That was why ovens back then were cubes or rectangular cuboids. But right now, heat, as much of it as we can get, is our top priority, which means this shape will be more effective…_

After Senku scratched a few lines in some dirt with a stick, Chrome, who had been watching curiously nearby, came closer to look at what he had drawn.

"What's that, Senku?"

"We need a place to heat the iron sand once we have as much of it as we need," replied Senku. Pointing to the remains of their campfire from last night, he continued, "Heating the iron in open air, like when you made your sulfur ball, would leak too much of the heat into the air."

He pointed to his drawing.

"But if we make this bottle-shaped furnace, we can heat the iron inside of it until it melts. After that, we'll pour it into molds and make ourselves iron bars."

_After we get the iron bars, I'll put up lightning rods. Good thing I've already started scouting for places to put them. But the amount of iron we'll have… no point in having ten or twenty lightning rods if we only have one or two bars of iron- wait. If those rods attract lightning, there's a chance that the lightning will shift to the rods that have the iron attached. So setting up a ton of them would be for the best after all._

Senku would have to look for the right material make them. While random wooden sticks were easy to find, they wouldn't be able to support the iron bars.

_They'd have to be thick enough to be stable… maybe bamboo? Actually, I should start cutting bamboo so that I can make bellows for the furnace. But I'll need more leather for those, so I guess I can't start right away anyway. We've been saving the animal skins from our meals, and after drying them, we'll get enough leather eventually – and it'll take time to get all the iron sand we need, anyway. We can get everything we need – it'll just take a lot of time._

"Iron bars…" Chrome repeated, looking first at the drawing, then at their pot of iron sand. "We're going to need way more sand, aren't we?"

Senku nodded. "A lot of it."

* * *

(End of Chapter Nine.) (24/11/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** While the collection of iron sand was mostly skipped in the manga and anime, I think that gathering THAT much sand would have taken weeks and weeks. Over the next few chapters, if you get so sick of reading about iron sand that you just CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE, please remember that if there's one thing MORE boring than reading about weeks and weeks of collecting iron sand, it's WRITING about weeks and weeks of collecting iron sand, hahaha! XD I wish I could just skip the iron sand chapters and go straight to "good stuff," like Senku and the others making ramen, Gen's first appearance, etc., but because Senku likes the tiny details of scientific processes, I felt that it would be in-character for him to notice the long process of gathering scientific materials, step by step :)

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about the start of their iron sand journey? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Nine ("Iron Sand, Days 01-14")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	10. (S01 E08e) Iron Sand (Days 15-28)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (04/12/19):** Hello and hola, Kirana Retsu, Lu-chan 16Love, Alexzander95, CELESTE kaomy-chan, pikapika, Cionie9, and Out4Lunch! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the ninth chapter of No Stone Unturned! La collection de la arena hierro sera muy lenta, y la romance entre Senku y Kohaku sera muy lenta tambien... pero no te preocupes; tengo un plan! :D Yup, because being a scientist requires patience and attention to detail! I'm glad you liked my attempt at explaining the science behind bubbles! :) That's right, more iron sand chapters! After all, they gathered iron sand for a long time! Whoa! What are the chances that we'd have two completely different fandoms in common? Thank you so much! :D I hope I can do the same in this fanfic as well! O.o Even though Ruri doesn't talk to Kohaku that much, she still noticed the changes in her little sister :) Don't worry; the story will have more character interactions in the future! I'm definitely interested in writing the details behind the science innovations! And about expanding, I'll be doing even more of that in the future :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Ten: (S01 E08e) Iron Sand (Days 15-28)**

* * *

The third week they collected iron sand, Senku and the others continued to work day in, day out.

If Senku had been in his era, he would have build a robot to do all this bending for him. Then again, if he had been in his era, he could have just walked into a pharmacy and purchased antibiotics.

But in the absence of scientific advancement, muscle and hard work reigned in the stone world. And while Senku didn't have the former, he was more than capable of the latter – and, as he was coming to find out, so were the others.

Bend.

Magnet.

How much?

Enough?

Pouch.

Again.

There were benefits from keeping at it for so long – their soreness was being reduced as their bodies started to get used to the endless motions of bending and stooping, and they were identifying little dips and pockets in the river where iron sand was more likely to accumulate, and where it would be easier to collect.

And, at other times, they would move further along the river, to look for more places to continue their gathering, to search for new dips and pockets in the riverbed.

But every single day, their goal was always the same – to get as much iron sand as they could from the river into their pouches, and from their pouches into the iron sand pot where they kept all of it.

Their hard work was paying off, too – after completely covering the bottom of the pot at the end of the first week, Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika were seeing the little increments their contributions were making to the pot. The increments were a little too… well, little, but with the four of them, doing steady work wasn't as difficult as it used to be for Senku.

A little more one day, and then a little more the next day. Little by little. Always just a little, but it was better than nothing, and science was always like this, one step leading to the next.

_It would be much easier,_ thought Senku, _if we could find an iron deposit. But the time we'd spend looking for one… all wasted if we didn't find anything._

Which was precisely why, when he got new ideas where to look, Senku went by himself. There was no point in going with the others and stopping, even temporarily, the collection of iron sand.

And it was on one of these excursions that he saw Kohaku doing some odd motions in the shallow part of the sea.

But Senku's purpose was to look for minerals, not to speak to her, so he gave a shrug and moved on.

Other tasks aside, they all returned to the river eventually, because there was always more iron sand to be gathered.

* * *

The fourth week they collected iron sand, Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika visited the beach.

After having spent many, many days looking for sand in the river, Senku noticed that his supply of calcium carbonate – which he needed to make soap – was running low. Which meant going to seaside to collect seashells.

"Seashells?" Kohaku asked. "What for?"

Senku chuckled and took a small lump from one of his bags.

"One of the things you can make with seashells… is soap!" he declared, holding the small piece he had in his hand for everybody to see.

He was down to his last bar of soap, which he had made while he, Taiju, and Tsukasa had still been tentative allies.

After standing on her tiptoes to look at the object, Suika said, "It's very small! What is it?"

Before Senku could answer, Kohaku exclaimed, "It's the same color as the rock you used for your sorcery!"

"Sorcery?" asked Chrome, his interest piqued.

When Kohaku explained how Senku had made orbs appear by using the rock and some water, instead of being unimpressed, Chrome was even more curious.

"You can make those without charcoal? How?"

Senku opened his mouth to explain- only to see Kohaku give a small grin as she looked away, which made him pause.

_Wait… the last time I did this…_

The memories of answering Chrome's questions for twelve straight hours came flooding back to Senku, and he almost shuddered.

"Actually… I'll just show you…"

And that was how the four of them ended up at the beach that day to gather seashells.

With four people on seashell duty instead of just Taiju, they were able to fill the baskets they had brought with them before the day was through. After a couple of hours of Chrome and Kohaku fishing for dinner while Senku and Suika gathered firewood, the four of them decided to make camp in a nearby clearing for the night and set down baskets of seashells, reminding Senku of another time when he had camped in a clearing for the night with a sack of crushed seashells and eaten delicious food with people he should have been able to trust.

_Heh. I wonder how the Tsukasa Empire's doing?_

Three allies, salted grilled fish, a roaring fire. Three allies who had been helping him collect iron sand for four weeks, to make something they had never seen, to create something else that existed nowhere in the stone world except in their imaginations and in Senku's memories of modern medicine.

Even so, Senku didn't tell them that seashells could be used to make four things.

He knew better than to make the same mistake twice.

* * *

(End of Chapter Ten.) (04/12/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** Even though Senku doesn't trust them completely yet (he's only known them around one month at this point, after all), he does like Kohaku, Chrome, and Suika :D He's just cautious enough and realistic enough to not be as open with them as he would be with, for example, Taiju, whom Senku DOES trust completely :D

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku's caution in keeping information from Kohaku and the others? :O

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Ten ("Iron Sand, Days 15-28")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	11. (S01 E08f) Sunflower Treat

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (07/12/19):** Hello and hola, Lu-chan 16Love, The Green Seer, LaReinedesNieges, and Kirana Retsu! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the tenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! As a scientist, Senku learns things quickly XD I really, really think that Senku and Kohaku are endgame :D I'm having a lot of fun filling things in, and thank you very much for sharing your headcanon with me; it's a lovely thought that Senku started helping Kohaku with Ruri's health this early! :D Actually, the last part of chapter that you're about to read is about a headcanon of my own! (Then again, pretty much this entire fanfic is my headcanon XD) Yeah, Senku is being cautious this time around, but Kohaku, Chrome, and Suika will prove that they're worthy of his trust! :) I'm very happy that you think the characters are in-character! Senku y Kohaku estan haciendo un viaje lente, y muchas cosas pasaran en el futuro! I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: (S01 E08f) Sunflower Treat**

* * *

At the end of the fourth week of collecting iron sand, Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika were at the same river, bending and gathering as much sand as they could. Meanwhile, Suika's dog played on the riverbank, letting out little yips and barks to try and catch his playmate's attention.

After spending the whole morning filling two pouches with iron sand, Senku dropped his magnet in yet another pouch and began to wade out of the river.

"Looking for minerals again?" asked Chrome.

Senku shook his head. "No."

Beside Chrome, Kohaku straightened up and peered at the sky.

"The sun's bright today, so the animals might be out… I might be able hunt something for dinner in the forest. Chrome, Suika, do you want to come?"

They both indicated their refusal.

"Suika will stay here for now," said the little girl, "and use this magnet some more!"

"Good luck, Kohaku. My traps didn't catch anything this afternoon," Chrome grumbled. "Maybe I should look for other places for them…"

A while later, at the shed of science, Senku exchanged his full pouches for empty ones, put several items in a sack made of boar hide, and started the journey to his destination, which he reached eventually after much huffing and puffing. He had only just set down his sack and was about to sit down on the ground near a familiar pile of stones when he heard the voice of the person he had intended to wait for.

"Senku?"

"Ah, Suika, you're here," he said, without turning around. Instead, he picked up the sack again and started walking. "Come here for a minute…"

And that was the day that Senku taught Suika how to roast sunflower seeds.

* * *

After carrying the stones to a nearby area with less greenery, Senku started a low, but wide, fire, and, with Suika's help, dropped the stones in one by one and waited for them to heat up. Then he carefully balanced the clay plate he had brought on top of the stones, and when that had heated up as well, he asked Suika to take the large pouch from inside the sack and pour the sunflower seeds onto the clay plate.

While roasting the seeds, Senku took care of the clay plate, the rocks, and the fire while Suika fetched kindling for the flames when the heat was too low, or water from a nearby river using the bamboo containers Senku had brought in case the heat was too high.

When the seeds were ready, the two of them sat in the grass and used large pebbles to crack the hard shells open to reach the crunchy treats inside. Things went slowly at first, but Suika became faster in the process as she learned the best ways to open them.

_Suika shouldn't be hungry; it isn't logical to work and work without taking care of yourself, _Senku mused as he cracked sunflower seed shells next to Suika._ Sunflower seeds are simple to prepare, and with more food and a wider variety of vitamins and minerals, she'll be a more productive member of the kingdom of science._

"This is fun!" squealed Suika happily as she opened another sunflower seed shell. "But… the flowers we used looked old, Senku. Why didn't you choose younger ones?"

Senku gestured to the discarded stalks next to him.

"I didn't choose them today; I got them over a week ago. If you want to roast seeds like we just did, Suika, you can't use fresh sunflowers because the seeds won't ready yet. You can only use sunflowers that are at the end of their biological life cycle."

"Bio… huh?" she asked, confused.

"A biological life cycle," Senku explained, "is the series of changes that organisms – in this case, plants like sunflowers – go through while they're alive. And if you want to eat sunflower seeds on a regular basis, you need to know each time how many seeds you want to get and how many flowers you'll need, because like watermelons, sunflowers are monocarpic plants."

After absorbing the information, Suika said, "So… we can only use wilted sunflowers, right?" When she saw Senku nod, she asked, "What does monocarpic mean?"

"Monocarpic plants are plants that…"

* * *

After several warm, lazy hours sitting in the sun while surrounded by bright yellow sunflowers, chatting about the village, the nearby forests and mountains, Suika's dog, the best ways to choose sunflowers for future seed roasting, and other subjects, Senku and Suika's supply of roasted sunflower seeds dwindled down to nothing.

Senku had never seen anybody look both so delighted and so utterly despondent at the same time – and with a watermelon hat, at that.

"This was so, so delicious! But… um…" Suika said sadly, "…it looks like Suika finished it all. Now we don't have any to share with Kohaku and Chrome…" She gave a tearful sniffle. "I'm sorry, Senku…"

Senku gave a careless wave. "Don't worry. We can always come back."

And they did.

* * *

_The first time had been a genuine accident, but after that, for years, Suika would always playfully finish all the sunflower seeds at the end of their occasional sunflower afternoons together, prompting Senku to say with amusement that they could always make more next time._

_One day, they made so much that there really _**were**_ enough seeds to take back and share with the others, and Suika was worried their sunflower field visits would come to an end…_

_…until Senku reached out and stuffed all the leftover seeds in his mouth, claiming that he needed energy for the long walk back to the village._

_Suika giggled and told him that they could always make more next time._

* * *

(End of Chapter Eleven.) (07/12/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** I wanted to include this chapter because both platonic and romantic love change the way you see people; the way you see life. Kohaku won't be seen in every chapter, but every time Senku feels affection for his friends and concern for the people under his protection, he grows as a person, and takes one step closer in learning how to love her :) Not only that, but Senku and Suika like and trust each other very much in the manga and anime, and I like to think that this was how they formed their special connection :)

**II. Question of the day:** Can you find the small clue that let Senku know that Suika would visit the sunflower field that day? :D

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Eleven ("Sunflower Treat")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	12. (S01 E08g) Iron Sand (Days 29-42)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (14/12/19):** Hello and hola, Kirana Retsu, The Green Seer, Out4Lunch, LaReinedesNieges, Lu-chan 16Love, Guest, Ultra Instinct, and pikapika! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the eleventh chapter of No Stone Unturned! Si, yo creo tambien que Senku y Suika tienen una hermano-hermana relacion! :) Y el aprendera cuidar de la gente, y and expresar este cuidado, poco a poco como el crece :) I love their brother-sister bond; it's so wholesome! :D Of course, Senku won't be too obvious when he does things just to make people happy, so he has to put a logical spin on things XD I think these little moments are important to show how his friendships developed! Yikes, better to stay alive! O.o Do your best at school! :D And I'll do my best in future chapters, too! I really liked writing about Senku and Suika! And that's really great to hear; thank you! :D Speaking of more, as you can see, the next chapter is here! Senku wanted to do something nice for Suika, and when she had questions, he was willing to explain the reasoning behind things, like he always is! Este es que yo intento, mantenerse fiel a las personalidades de las personajes, asi que me alegro; gracias! :D Technically, Chapter One is about Season One, Episode Seventeen... :D Senku shared with Suika the yumminess of sunflower seeds :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: (S01 E08g) Iron Sand (Days 29-42)**

* * *

The fifth week they collected iron sand, Senku realized how difficult masonry was.

Designing an ironmaking furnace had not been a problem, and because of Chrome's familiarity with the surrounding area, finding boulders of the right type of rock – sandstone had been used in ancient times for building homes and public structures, which meant it was certainly sturdy enough to use to construct a furnace – had not been a problem either.

The problem was how to turn large car-sized boulders into several useable blocks of stone.

It was all very well and good to try and use rocks to smash other rocks, but the problem with that was that the pieces ended up being too small. If the goal had been to get rock fragments the size of limes or apples, the job would have already been half done. But because Senku knew they needed blocks of stone about the size of shoeboxes so that they would be strong enough, they needed to use a different method to get the pieces they needed.

Eventually, they decided to work on the smaller boulders first. After finding one that was the size of a third of a car, Senku and Chrome went to work. Instead of using a large, heavy rock to smash the boulder from above, they used stone tools and watermelon-sized rocks to break the boulder from the side with the intention of chipping away at it until it was the proper size.

It worked.

But it was inefficient.

Using that method, it took Senku and Chrome a few hours to shape a single block – and they needed many, many blocks to build the furnace. However, they couldn't focus on that task alone because they also needed to collect iron sand. If they didn't have enough of it, the furnace would be useless.

Not only that, but that manner of extracting single stone blocks was wasteful. They ended up making only single blocks from boulders that could have yielded three or four. Unfortunately, the lime-sized and apple-sized pieces that broke off would be too small to use to construct the furnace because their small mass wouldn't be able to support the weight of the rocks that would be placed above them, even with solidifying clay to hold everything in place.

During the week, Senku and Chrome extracted a few sandstone blocks in the morning and early afternoon using this inefficient method before cooling off in the river and collecting iron sand with Kohaku and Suika for the rest of the day.

There was always more iron sand to gather.

* * *

The sixth week they collected iron sand, Senku found out how stupidly strong – and fast – Kohaku was.

"Senku? Chrome? What are you doing here?"

Kohaku, who was holding a pot full of hot spring water, came out from the trees.

"Ah, looking at stones again, aren't you? You're really similar to each other…"

"Not just looking," said Senku, gesturing to the boulder beside him. "We need to make several blocks this size…" he gestured with his hands, "from this rock."

Chrome continued Senku's train of thought.

"The problem is that it takes so long to break one and make it the proper size…" he complained.

"Oh?" mused Kohaku, putting down her pot near the boulder and reaching behind her to take out her weapons. "Let me try…"

And, as Senku and Chrome watched, her hands disappeared in a flurry of strikes, each one faster than the last, and as Kohaku's weapons made swift contact with the boulder, several large pieces broke off and fell at her feet.

When she was finished, she stepped back.

"How's that?"

"If you had used raw power," commented Senku, "the edges would be a lot rougher, and there would be more small pieces and more sand on the ground…"

After kneeling down, he used his fingers to feel the edges of sandstone block closest to him.

"…but because of your speed, the pressure on the boulder didn't last long, so the stones stayed mostly intact… Now we have the building blocks we need!"

She was about to reply when she heard Chrome.

"Yeah! Now we can get rocks and make our furnace!" Chrome exclaimed happily. "You're incredible, Kohaku… just as strong as a gorilla!"

And, before Senku could blink, Chrome had a pile of painful-looking lumps on his head.

_She really **is** fast._

"Stop calling me a gorilla!" growled Kohaku.

"Oww…" moaned Chrome, rubbing the top of his head. "Kohaku, you didn't have to hit that hard…"

"Anyway," she said, giving Chrome a warning glance before turning to Senku, "do you want me to do that again to any of these other boulders?"

Senku looked at the sandstone blocks she had already created from smashing a single massive rock to pieces.

"Nah, not today… Chrome and I will carry these to the camp and make measurements. We might need you to do this again tomorrow, though."

Nodding, she said, "Alright. Then I better get this to Ruri-nee before it gets cold…"

With that, Kohaku strapped her knives to her back, bent slightly to lift up her large earthenware pot of hot spring water, and hummed a light tune as she effortlessly carried the hot water in the direction of the village.

* * *

_Someday, far into the future, he would talk to her about a different rock that she had also smashed to pieces for him._

_"Taking me to Ishigami Village, getting out Byakuya's glass record…" Senku spoke some more, then paused. "You're always the one doing it, aren't you?"_

_"Doing what?" asked Kohaku._

_"Bringing that old man back home to me."_

* * *

(End of Chapter Twelve.) (14/12/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** When I thought about it, I realized that Kohaku does very special things for Senku that are DIRECTLY related to his father O.O And as for how Senku knew that he could trust Kohaku with something as precious as his father's concrete gravestone, I like to think it was because of something like this - that it was because Senku and the others learned things about each other as they became friends during the weeks and weeks they spent gathering iron sand together :)

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku and Kohaku's future conversation? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twelve ("Iron Sand, Days 29-42")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	13. (S01 E08h) Iron Sand (Days 43-56)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (21/12/19):** Hello and hola, Kirana Retsu, The Green Seer, Lu-chan 16Love, Alexzander95, dippitylovelygirl, pikapika, Elcall, and evelynmoore05! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the twelfth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Despues viendo que ella fue capaz de la tarea rapidamente pero cuidadosamente, Senku sabra que el puede confiar en Kohaku por el disco vidrio de su padre cuando el tiempo viene :) Imagine about all the effort building that furnace must have taken O.o (Which, incidentally, is what this chapter is about, haha!) I'm very glad that you liked the connection with the time capsule! :D It was my favorite part of the chapter :) Chrome needs to remember that Kohaku's not a gorilla... but he won't XD I'm really happy to hear that! :D I really want to stay true to Senku's character throughout this fanfic, and like you, I think that a slow burn romance is the best way to go about it :) Thanks! I'll keep trying my best to write original content and keep everybody in-character! Right? The fact that it's ALWAYS Kohaku... O.o Yup; for somebody rebuilding the world, Senku can be pretty dense... And don't worry; he will see Kohaku eventually, after... uh... well, this is slow burn for a reason, haha! :D It's great to hear that you had fun reading my fanfic! And thank you for asking! Actually, I don't plan on posting on Ao3 because I like the features and layout of FFN more :) I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: (S01 E08h) Iron Sand (Days 43-56)**

* * *

The seventh week they collected iron sand, Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika worked with different types of materials.

The first few days were spent smashing and smoothing down enough sandstone rocks to make into large bricks to build the furnace they would need to make iron sand. Kohaku's smashing prowess made things proceed much faster, although because she took some time each day to bring hot spring water to her sister, the process of bringing the stones back to the camp depended on Senku and Chrome's strength and physical stamina.

And whenever anything depended on Senku's strength and physical stamina, it wasn't going to be finished very quickly.

Eventually, they had the stones they needed where they needed them, and after Suika showed Senku where he could find many tall, sturdy bamboo plants, he enlisted Chrome and Kohaku's help in cutting some down and bringing them back. While Kohaku could carry several poles by herself, Senku and Chrome had to resort to teaming up to be able to carry two or three at a time. But because they didn't need that many, one trip was sufficient.

After piling the bamboo beside the sandstone bricks, it was time to make the mortar that would hold the bricks of the furnace together.

_I wonder if Taiju still remembers that you can make four things from seashells?_

Senku planned to use both mortar and solidifying clay – the mortar because it worked as a binding agent, and clay because the bricks weren't uniform and needed something more solid than mortar to even out their edges and fill in gaps, like placing plaster in a hole in a wall. Once he was able to describe to Suika what he needed, she set off with an empty pot to get some while Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku worked on crushing the seashells they had gathered three weeks ago.

Senku had crushed some shells himself the week they were gathered to make a few bars of soap – partly for all of them to use, and partly to satisfy Chrome's rabid curiosity. However, the majority of the shells had stayed in the baskets they had been gathered in… until now.

The three set to work grinding shells with stone and wooden tools, the process taking a while because of the amount they had. Suika had returned from gathering clay and was finished preparing the large mushrooms she had also gathered for the evening meal by the time they were finished.

Because each day's work had to be accompanied by hunting, or fishing, or both, as well as gathering iron sand, the four of them were kept busy, but they accomplished a good amount of work by the end of the week.

* * *

The eighth week they collected iron sand was the final week they collected iron sand.

Their previous efforts had resulting in their obtaining sandstone bricks, bamboo, clay, and mortar from shells. It was time to put those things together to build the furnace, so Senku and Chrome got to work.

After Senku re-sketched the furnace's blueprint on a new piece of flat bark, they began to construct the furnace. The first thing they did was dig, because even in the modern era, homes and buildings that used stone and cement needed a foundation beneath surface level so that they would hold true against earthquakes and storms.

When they had dug a sufficiently deep circular trench, Suika volunteered to use the clay she had gathered to patch up the sandstone blocks that had cracks and holes, and Senku let her get to it as he, Chrome, and Kohaku began the process of laying down bricks and coating them with mortar.

He noticed Suika's watermelon hat touching the stone as she peered carefully at the bricks very closely, to the point that she surely must have been cross-eyed how close her eyes were to the object she was looking at.

_Is Suika looking that closely because she can't see the block very well?_ Senku wondered. _It's already right in front of her, though…_

As he watched, Senku noticed that she took an unusually long amount of time to inspect each sandstone brick, tilting her head at all angles and looking as closely as her watermelon hat could allow her to look before deciding whether a particular brick needed solidifying clay or not. When clay was required, she took a wet handful with one hand and used the other to feel the brick with her fingers, still looking for imperfections, as if…

_…As if she doesn't trust her own eyesight,_ he mused.

Because the clay needed time to dry, Senku decided that they would first use the bricks that didn't require it, and then go gather iron sand at the river while it hardened. After they had rested, Senku and Chrome would go back to building the furnace, Kohaku would leave for the hot springs – for this week, she had decided to temporarily change her routine to bringing Ruri hot spring water in the evenings instead of mornings – and Suika would usually stay behind to gather more iron sand at the river.

Most of the week had passed by the time they finished building the furnace, and the lack of rain in the time that followed allowed it to bake in the sun and harden, resulting in a solid ironmaking furnace. When it was complete, they spent the last two days gathering iron sand all day. Without anything else to do now that the furnace was complete, it was strangely reminiscent of their first week of collecting iron sand, with all four of them staying close to each other for most of the day.

And, at the end of the eighth week, Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika completely filled the pot with iron sand.

They finally had all the iron sand they needed.

* * *

(End of Chapter Thirteen.) (21/12/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** They spent eight long weeks gathering enough iron sand for... two magnets O.o To recap, during these past fifty-four days, they acquired iron sand, animal hide leather, pouches, shells, sandstone blocks, bamboo, mortar, solidifying clay, a furnace... and sunflower seeds :D

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about the end of their iron sand collecting marathon? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Thirteen ("Iron Sand, Days 43-56")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	14. (S01 E08i) Detective Work

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (28/12/19):** Hello and hola, 9001668, Lu-chan 16Love, The Green Seer, QwertyBobberson, Ruby890, Yandrik, and Kirana Retsu! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the thirteenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Yup, Senku is observant, and he likes Suika, too! :) He doesn't trust them completely yet :( But he will someday! Your "Ohoho" reminds me of Kaseki! :D Senku may be getting exercise now, but the villagers have been exerting physical effort all their lives. It took them SO LONG to gather all that iron sand! I guess his noticing was off-screen in the manga and anime, but it's on-screen here :D Thanks! :) They went through a LOT of suffering to get the sand they needed! It's great to hear that about my writing style and about the science parts! :D There should be less confusion during this next chapter because no mortar or shells are involved :D Ahora, Senku sabe acerca de la vista de Suika. El estara ayudando con ese... pero primero, ellos estaran haciendo el hierro! :) I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: (S01 E08i) Detective Work**

* * *

Having known in advance that burning wood alone wouldn't be enough to reach the temperature they would need to melt the iron sand, Senku used bamboo and animal leather to make primitive bellows to help them pump oxygen into the furnace.

They started out fine, using the bellows together, but even though they were only opening and closing the bellows, the pace at which they all had to do it was gruelling, and Senku's arms started to get sore with the amount of effort he was exerting.

And ironically, despite doing all this to provide the furnace with air, Senku was running low on it himself. As he was putting all his strength into the bellows, he had little energy to spare to take in more than small gasps of air, which left him panting as the work continued.

With four people working, it should have taken twenty to thirty hours... but Senku hadn't accounted for how exhausting it would be to keep up the pace. Suika was the first to collapse after three hours, with Senku following her another three hours later. Chrome put up a good effort for an additional hour, but in the end, it was Kohaku who lasted the longest, pumping oxygen two hours longer than everybody else before she slumped over the ground in exhaustion with the others.

It was at that point that Senku said they needed additional manpower, which meant finding out what people wanted and seeing if science could give it to them. Suika said she would go investigate, which was fine with Senku, but then...

"Suika can go anywhere in the village without people knowing because Suika can turn into a suika!" she exclaimed, before spinning... into her watermelon?

Blinking, Senku mentally calculated the volume of the watermelon, and immediately concluded that there was no way a young girl could fit inside... but since it had happened right in front of him, it wasn't something he could deny, either.

It looked like while the modern era had surprises for the stone world, the stone world had surprises for the modern era, too.

* * *

As they munched on grilled fish around an open fire, Suika told them about her mission. Apparently, she had investigated the village all day and asked people if they wanted anything. She mentioned three women, and if she had grouped them together, they might want the same thing. If Senku could get it for them, that would already almost double the kingdom of science's manpower.

"What these three want most is..."

"I sure hope it's something that science can make in this era..." muttered Senku.

Some things, like soap, could be created even in the stone world. Other things needed more modern technology in order to be made...

"Boyfriends!"

"Of course it had to be something absolutely impossible for science!"

...and some things, like _**boyfriends,**_ were things you couldn't make with stone world science **_or_** modern era science.

"Did they say anything else, Suika?" Senku asked.

"Yup! Garnet said she wants a strong man, Sapphire said she wants a hottie, and Ruby said that she wants somebody who will dote on her."

_This is inconvenient,_ Senku thought to himself. _They're the first people I've heard about, but what they're looking for is impossible for me to come up with. I already know that science won't be able to give them what they want. They're no way that science can give them boyfriends._

"Hah!" Kohaku laughed. "From the way I look at it..."

_The first one wants a strong man... and physical strength isn't exactly the specialty of the kingdom of science. The second one wants a handsome man, but that isn't something that can be measured, except maybe by facial symmetry or by The Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi. And it's not like I can go around measuring people's faces for her._

"...you're kind of an attractive man, Senku."

_So those two clearly aren't options. And the third one... she wants somebody who will dote on her? That's pretty general. Does she want somebody who'll pay her a lot of attention? That'll take time, and besides physical strength, time isn't something that the kingdom of science has a lot of, either... well, we have time for important things, like gathering iron sand to create magnets, but not for relationships._

"I don't think you're the type of hottie..."

_After eight weeks of work, we finally have all the iron sand we need, but our plan to make them into magnets depends on what the villagers want. If we can't find a way to make them happy, we won't be able to make iron, which means no magnets, which means no electricity, which means no sulfa drug. It all starts with iron, and that means getting enough manpower to melt the iron sand that we've gathered. We need people._

"...that Sapphire was talking about though."

_Then again, even if they were talking about boyfriends, maybe we can give them something else. Out of these three, the "somebody who will dote on me" girl is the one we have the best chance with right now. Parents dote on their kids, so doting depends on what you do for the person. If we can figure out exactly what she wants, we may be able to make a plan, and get their help to make iron. We'll need as many people as possible to melt the iron sand._

After coming back to reality, Senku nodded decisively.

"The "somebody who will dote on me" girl will be our shot," he declared to Suika. "What does she want?"

* * *

(End of Chapter Fourteen.) (28/12/19.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** They finally have enough iron sand, but not the manpower they need to melt it! And... poor, oblivious Senku... XD He's very focused on iron sand and manpower at the moment :D

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku's priorities? XD

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Fourteen ("Detective Work")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	15. (S01 E08j) Foxtail Ramen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (04/01/20):** Hello and hola, Lu-chan 16Love, Evelyn (9001668), The Green Seer, Yandrik, chaomi, and Kirana Retsu! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the thirteenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Trying to melt iron sand requires a lot of energy! :P Nice to meet you, Evelyn! :D Yup! In the anime, we saw Suika collapse in the daytime, but at night, the smoke was thick enough that Ginro could see it, so I figured Senku lasted longer than Suika did :D Senku completely ignored the VERY SIGNIFICANT thing Kohaku said to him, and my guess is because he was thinking about science. Oh, Senku... XD Thank you; I'll keep trying my best! Thanks for all the scientific information! :D I think that while Sapphire certainly knows everybody in the village, there may be ways to point out "new" hotties to her, like if Senku invents scissors and opens a makeover salon XD Imagine Magma after an exfoliating facial and with a short, movie star-like haircut XD You're very welcome; I hope you enjoy reading my fanfic! :D Tal vez Senku no puede dar las chicas los novios, pero el puede dar las chicas el ramen delicioso por comer! I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: (S01 E08j) Foxtail Ramen**

* * *

The delicious aroma of the warm ramen wafted in the air, making everybody's mouths water.

Last night, after seeing Suika use a foxtail stalk to play with her dog, Senku had the idea to make ramen out of foxtail millet.

With Kohaku's slashing prowess, getting enough foxtail grass the next day has been no problem at all. The beating of the stalks to extract the grains had taken far longer. Seeing them hitting the foxtail grass had horrified Chalk, who made things difficult for Senku because of it, at least at first… but that was another story.

Next came the process of removing the little bits of inedible fluff that remained in the grains. Senku found out that despite his and Chrome's relatively close battle power rankings – or at least, Kohaku's estimates – Chrome had an easier time carrying a large pot of water than Senku.

As the man had apparently spent his entire childhood carrying rocks, while Senku had spent his carrying books, Chrome's greater stamina – although he **_was_** tired after setting down the pot of water – wasn't too much of a surprise.

"Now that we have these grains," Senku said, holding up a handful of the green foxtail millet, "all we need to do is turn them into flour, and we'll be able to make the noodles!"

Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika looked at him in confusion.

"What's flour?"

"What are noodles?"

"And how do we make flour into noodles?"

* * *

It turned out that after they acquired the millet, they needed to set aside time to create proper tools to turn it into flour, which involved shaping a few large flat stones close to each other and likewise making small flat stones with which to grind the foxtail millet to get flour.

And later, after they acquired flour and noodles and eventually made ramen – hence the mouthwatering aroma – Chrome volunteered to eat the mysterious new food, which wasn't a surprise, as he had been eating all sorts of roots and leaves and plants for years to look for something that could cure Ruri.

"IT'S SOOOOO GOOOOOD!"

Considering how delicious ramen was, Senku understood Chrome's enthusiastic reaction to his very first time trying it. What he **_didn't_** understand was how he could almost see yellow light shooting out of Chrome's eyes, as if his feelings for the bowl of noodles couldn't be contained and had to manifest themselves as laser beams.

He blinked.

_I must just be imagining things._

After Chrome's unmistakable recommendation, Kohaku and Suika tried their ramen as well – Kohaku, who was more cautious, tried a single noodle at first.

If the foxtail millet of the stone age ended up being poisonous for some reason, it would probably be useful to have one person less affected by it than the rest…

"I can't believe that food like this actually exists in this world!"

…although from the way she tore into her ramen after that, it probably wouldn't be Kohaku.

Meanwhile, Suika had no problem with slurping up several noodles at once… and when she discovered the chewy texture of the noodles for herself, she seemed to keep on slurping without stopping. Ramen was very different from sunflower seeds, but it looked like both had met her approval.

Senku, satisfied by their extremely positive reactions, tasted his own ramen. Unfortunately, the food they had worked hard to make together did not meet his expectations.

As he chewed, he struggled to keep his mouth closed to prevent himself from spitting out the crumbly, disgusting ramen.

_Why is this so bitter?! It tastes like medicine!_

* * *

Minutes later, while Senku still hadn't finished his single bowl, the others made quick work of theirs. Chrome, who had started first, also finished first, and got himself a second serving almost immediately.

After being helped by Kohaku refill her bowl, Suika took a noodle and attempted to feed Chalk, who approved of the gesture. The small dog gobbled up the short noodle in record time before silently pleading with the watermelon girl for another. Suika, of course, obliged.

Kohaku served herself some more ramen as well before sitting next to Senku, who was watching in amusement as Chrome seemed to attempt to finish his second bowl even more quickly than his first.

"You're not eating, Senku?"

Senku looked down at his own bowl, which, aside from the few horrible mouthfuls he managed earlier, was mostly untouched.

If he had been served such awful ramen in the modern era, he would have refused to eat another bite… but the memories of near-starvation during his six months of solitude, before he revived Taiju, were at the back of Senku's mind, and he couldn't justify throwing away food for any reason.

Peering into his bowl, he frowned critically.

_This is nothing like the ramen Byakuya and I used to eat,_ he thought to himself, _but it'll do._

"Byakuya?" asked Kohaku curiously.

_Oh, I said that out loud?_

"Who's Byakuya? Is he a…" she paused, then pronounced the unfamiliar word carefully, "…a scientist, like you?"

A pause.

In his mind's eye, Senku saw water, as well as something that he had created in the past to help his father: the swimming electrodes that helped Byakuya pass his astronaut exam and go to outer space.

_I'll follow that old man. I just need more time._

"No," he said simply as he dipped his makeshift chopsticks into the most awful – yet ironically, also the most delicious – ramen on the face of the stone world. "I'm a scientist, like him."

As he ate, Senku felt the weight of his ramen bowl.

It was heavy.

* * *

(End of Chapter Fifteen.) (04/01/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** Happy Senku's birthday, fellow Dr. Stone fans! ^_^ Senku doesn't think about Byakuya in an overly sappy way, because that's not his style XD But just like how Byakuya thinks about him, he also thinks about Byakuya :'(

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about his conversation with Kohaku about his father? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Fifteen ("Foxtail Ramen")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	16. Gen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (11/01/20):** Hello, Anonymous, Elcall, The Green Seer, Evelyn (9001668), Lu-chan 16Love, Ruby890, and maguimezaglz! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the fifteenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! I love writing slow burn, so you're very welcome! :D Aww! Byakuya and Senku have a really special father-son relationship, don't they? The characters may act tough or standoffish sometimes, but all of them... uh, MOST of them, have really wholesome feelings! His father means a lot to him :( I wonder if I'll ever get to try that kind of ramen to see how it tastes? Thank you! I have to be honest... those details were actually from the manga, or the anime, or both, but I'm happy you noticed them! ^_^ I like to incorporate things like that into my chapters because I think Dr. Stone's canon is awesome! :D He thinks about Byakuya even though he hasn't seen his father in over three thousand years :( Senku's not too touchy-feely, even in his own mind, but he still really loves his father! Thank you for giving my fanfic a chance! Dr. Stone is an incredible anime series, isn't it? I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Gen**

* * *

Asagiri Gen was smiling he walked down to where somebody, no doubt the person he had been told to look for, was surrounded by the members of the small village.

_It took a few days of traveling… but now I can find out what kind of person this Senku-chan is who has Tsukasa-chan all worked up~_

When he arrived at the base of the mountain, Gen hid behind some large rocks to watch how Senku-chan interacted with the villagers. He was standing behind the ramen cart, wearing a coat of some sort, a belt with several small pouches, and shoes made from the same material as his coat. Close to the cart, a man with a short piece of rope tied around his forehead and a little girl wearing a watermelon hat distributed food to the rest. An attractive blonde-haired woman stood nearby, not speaking to anybody like the others, but clearly on her guard.

"Three bowls of green foxtail ramen, coming up!"

Soup, sauce, noodles, bamboo shoots, meat, spring onions.

_So this is Senku-chan, the one Tsukasa-chan fears… he looks intense… methodical…_ thought Gen as he watched the man systematically create the same type of ramen bowl for each customer. _Then again, I already knew that from his carving. If he can count nonstop for three thousand seven hundred years, he can remember the proper order of ingredients fo a good bowl of ramen._

As several people nearby slurped his noodles in enjoyment, Gen noticed Senku-chan look in his customers' direction for a moment. While he didn't smile outright, Gen noticed a small, satisfied smirk on Senku-chan's face for a moment as he glanced at the people around him.

And, just as quickly, the man's expression melted back into neutrality and he continued his current task.

_He doesn't want to show it too openly, but Senku-chan likes that he's giving these villagers something new and delicious to eat. From their surprise, it looks like they've never had ramen before. The fact that they like it, that they're happy eating it, means something to him._

Soon, Senku-chan finished putting together his three ramen bowls. Since his two helpers were now distributing bowls in the crowd, he set them on the surface in front of him, and three different people took them excitedly and thanked him. While they were polite, they also didn't linger, choosing to go to their friends instead.

_They're not afraid of him or what he offers, but they don't know him very well, either. If he had been more familiar with them, they would have stayed a while longer to chat with him at the ramen cart._

Another thought crossed Gen's mind as he eyed the cart.

_Intelligent types like Senku-chan… and myself… usually aren't very strong. Cutting down this wood and making it into a cart… gathering all these ramen ingredients and creating these bowls and tools and baskets… he must have had help putting all this together._

_Most of them are treating him like a stranger who's handing out delicious food. But, the ramen cart aside, Senku-chan isn't like Tsukasa-chan, who has no real friends. Senku-chan has Taiju-chan and Yuzuriha-chan. He's methodical, but not misanthropic. Among these people… those three, the ones who were with him earlier… are they Senku-chan's confidantes?_

"Senku? Ganen just asked for more ramen. He really thinks ramen is delicious!"

"Ah, Suika. I'll make more, then. Just keep handing out bowls to everybody, alright?"

"Alright! Suika will do her best!"

After Senku-chan put together several ramen bowls, the little girl carried two in each arm and somehow even balanced one on her watermelon hat as she bounced and served the still-hungry people around her. When the bowl on her head almost toppled, Gen barely had time to blink before the blonde-haired woman moved quickly to steady it, earning the little girl's thanks.

_That little watermelon girl… her name is Suika-chan? A very fitting name. She seems eager to help Senku-chan gain the villagers' esteem…_

After distributing all her filled ramen bowls, Gen watched as Suika-chan efficiently cleaned up the area by taking the empty bowls and discarded chopsticks and placed them to the side.

_Not only that… Suika-chan is also very eager to be helpful. With that watermelon hat, she must be hiding something about herself, and people tend to keep a distance from those who are so blatantly closed off to others. They're more familiar with her than with Senku-chan, but she isn't chatting long with anybody, either. She must not have a lot of friends._

After a few minutes, Suika-chan returned to the cart and enthusiastically started to take the new ramen bowls Senku-chan had prepared, ready to look for new customers.

_They're working in sync. As a methodical, scientific person, Senku-chan wants useful people around him, and Suika-chan is at that young age where she wants to be appreciated; to be useful. Their goals match up, making them a good team._

_After Suika-chan left to deliver ramen bowls to more waiting customers, a cute woman in pigtails who was already holding a bowl of ramen started walking towards the cart. Blondie-chan noticed immediately, but after determining that Pigtail-chan was no threat to Senku-chan, she stayed where she was, quiet, but observing._

"So, you're the one who made this food… it's the most delicious thing I've ever eaten…" said Pigtail-chan, her smile bright as she leaned towards Senku-chan, clearly wanting his attention. "Your name is Senku, right?"

_Looks like she's interested in Senku-chan~ Although it doesn't look like he sees that…_

Senku-chan, who was busy putting together yet another bowl of ramen, didn't look at the girl, but Gen thought he noticed the man give a small nod in response to the girl's question.

_Ah~ what a shame; a cute girl like that and he's totally oblivious…_

However, Pigtail-chan didn't give up. Smiling even wider, she continued, "So, Senku… what kind of girl is your type?"

_That girl's cute enough to be an idol… I wonder what Senku-chan will say?_

And Gen proceeded to listen to a short, but amusing, conversation.

* * *

He sighed in contentment after chewing and swallowing a few more ramen noodles.

_Don't get me wrong, this is definitely the most bitter ramen I've ever eaten… but it's nice to use chopsticks again and eat something from the modern civilization…_

"Come on, Kinro, Ginro!" Gen heard somebody exclaim. Turning in the direction of the speaker, he saw one of Senku-chan's likely allies, the man with the rope headband, offering two bowls of ramen to a stern-looking man and a more easygoing-looking younger man.

_This one is more confident than Suika-chan,_ thought Gen. _Suika-chan handed out food to people who already wanted it, but this man is trying to convince people who, apparently, don't trust Senku-chan and what he has to offer, if they have to be persuaded like this._

The man continued, tilting the bowls at a slight angle so that the two others, Kinro-chan and Ginro-chan, could see the soup, noodles, and other ingredients inside.

"You guys should taste this! Ramen is insanely good!"

"Really?" asked the shorter of the two men, who gave an excited grin as he eyed the bowls with interest.

_Blonde hair… is this one Kinro-chan, the gold wolf?_

"Uh-huh! You want a bowl, Ginro?"

_Ah, he's Ginro-chan, then~_

"Yeah! I wanna try that!"

He reached out for a bowl, only to be pulled back by Kinro-chan, who must have been his brother due to the similarity in their names. Gold wolf, silver wolf.

"Take those away, Chrome!" growled Kinro-chan as he struggled to keep a firm hold on his struggling - probably younger - brother.

_And this one's Chrome-chan, another one of Senku-chan's allies._

"We're not going to eat food made with sorcery!"

_Sorcery… of course, anything from the modern era would be seen as sorcery in this world. A wonderful time or a magician like myself to be here~ But did Chrome-chan become interested in sorcery after he met Senku-chan, or before? Wait, what are those?_

As Chrome-chan angled his body to attempt to hand Ginro-chan a bowl, Gen spotted two medium-sized bags hanging from Chrome-chan's rope belt.

_He has no reason to be carrying anything today because they clearly intend to stay here for their ramen operations. Those bags on his belt are like Senku-chan's pouches that he also has on his belt._

_That means that like Senku-chan, Chrome chan also feels the need to have his tools or materials within arm's reach… specific items that aren't intended for combat, like Blondie-chan's shield and weapons. The stone world emphasizes combat… but if Chrome-chan's strengths lie elsewhere, he needs different items._

_Maybe he's similar to Senku-chan… a thinker and not a fighter._

"And besides the danger of sorcery food," continued the untrusting man, who at last managed to drag his protesting younger brother closer to him, "it is dishonorable for guards to accept food from suspicious people! Rules are rules!"

_So Kinro-chan and Ginro-chan are both guards… and it looks like Kinro-chan is a stickler when it comes to rules. It explains why his eyes have been narrowed all this time. He dislikes it when people act differently from how he thinks they should… like how Ginro-chan really wants to eat ramen._

"Oh? Rules are rules?" said a sly female voice.

Upon hearing that, Chrome-chan, Kinro-chan, and Ginro-chan all turned to look at the newest participant in their conversation. Gen watched, intrigued, as Blondie-chan took the couple of steps needed to join the three men.

"Then what about that gold spear, Kinro?" continued Blondie-chan, gesturing to what Kinro-chan held in his right hand. Gen took in the long, sturdy spear. Its handle was made of some type of dark wood, and the tip…

_Is that **gold?!**_

Gen, who was quite fond of money, gold, and anything else related to luxury three thousand seven hundred years ago, was honestly surprised that he hadn't noticed the shining gold spearhead sooner.

"So food is a no-no, but you'll take gifts?" finished Blondie-chan, giving the discomfited Kinro-chan a knowing grin.

_Gifts?_

After a quick look around, Gen realized that except for Kinro-chan, everybody who had weapons, had stone weapons. Kinro-chan was the only one who had a weapon with any type of metal.

_And not just any metal… gold. A village this primitive may not have money yet, so gold itself might not have any transactional value. Whoever gave Kinro-chan the gold spear was somebody who both knew the meaning of Kinro-chan's name **and** had enough scientific knowledge to know how to make a gold spear in this stone world._

_Somebody like Senku-chan._

* * *

After an awkward pause, the embarrassed man growled, "Getting a new spear would have been wasteful, Kohaku," before hauling his brother to the side to berate him for wanting to try sorcery food.

_So Blondie-chan is called Kohaku-chan…_

She was the woman who had been watching over Senku-chan all morning – the same woman whose quick reflexes had saved the ramen bowl on Suika-chan's watermelon head from crashing to the ground.

_The most obvious reason a woman would hover over a man so closely would be that she was in love with him._

_But Kohaku-chan didn't show the slightest hint of jealousy when Pigtail-chan tried flirting with Senku-chan earlier. And they're not already in a relationship, either – she's interacted with Suika-chan and the others, but Senku-chan has completely ignored her despite her being the ally who has been standing in the same place the entire time, the one closest to the cart. If they were in a relationship, they would talk to each other more, or at least looked at each other, but they haven't. In fact, Senku-chan has been completely focused on ramen-related tasks and conversations this entire time._

After flashing a smile to Chrome-chan, who gave her a thumb's up before going back to trying to tempt Ginro-chan to eat ramen, Kohaku-chan returned to her previous place a few steps away from the ramen cart.

Still, Senku-chan, who was now slicing meat for the ramen, didn't even so much as glance at her to acknowledge her return.

_Yes, the two of them must not be very close… what are the others doing?_

Gen turned to survey the area.

Suika-chan was on the roof of the ramen cart, asking a large man, who was probably Ganen-chan, how many bowls he had eaten, when Chrome-chan was warning Ginro-chan that the ramen noodles would get too soggy if he delayed any longer.

Ginro-chan, who had still not given up on tasting the ramen, but who also looked as if he didn't want to incur his older brother's displeasure, had his arms up and his hands balled into fists as he whined to Kinro-chan, who was just as unyielding as he was earlier, shaking his head as he admonished the younger man.

_Time to meet Senku-chan and the rest of them face-to-face,_ Gen thought in amusement.

"This seriously makes me wish I had something to drink~" he sighed longingly, pitching his voice to carry over to where his targets were situated. "Like a cola…"

_The die is cast… how will they react?_

Since Gen was now leaning on a rock and looking in the other direction, he couldn't see what the others were doing, but he could hear them.

"Is that one of your friends, Senku?" he heard Kohaku-chan ask the man cheerfully.

Silence.

_Is Senku-chan analyzing the situation?_

More silence.

_Is he thinking of an escape route?_

Still more silence.

_What is he planning to-_

And in a matter of seconds, Gen was completely surrounded.

He smiled.

Things were going according to plan.

* * *

"Answer truthfully. Don't even think about lying or I'll cut your throat open right here and now. Are you one of that long-haired man's people?"

As Kohaku-chan's hard blue eyes stared daggers at him, her weapon only inches away from his vulnerable neck, Gen knew at once from the way she took charge that his being surrounded was likely Kohaku-chan's idea… and Gen realized that he had made a mistake in his earlier observations.

_I was wrong, _he thought, intrigued.

_Senku-chan wasn't ignoring her because they weren't close friends. On the contrary, he was able to completely focus on his tasks because he had faith that nothing bad would happen while Kohaku-chan was there with him._

_She isn't a neglected accomplice – she's a trusted lieutenant._

_That's why Chrome-chan and Suika-chan were handing out ramen and Kohaku-chan wasn't. Even though another set of hands would have been useful, considering how popular their ramen had turned out to be, they were perfectly fine with where she was and with what she was doing – watching, observing – because she has different skills from Suika-chan, who wants to be useful, and Chrome-chan, who wants everybody to accept Senku-chan's ramen creation._

_What she contributes to their little group isn't helping or talking or convincing – it's the ability to act as quickly as humanly possible to identify and neutralize enemies. Senku-chan's enemies._

_This is a problem, but… she's a woman, I'm a man… and a very attractive man, if I do say so myself~ Maybe my charm will work on her…_

"Ah, being so close to a cute girl like you really is wonderful~"

At her immediate frown, Gen quickly decided to shift tactics. Flirtation clearly wasn't going to get him out of this predicament… but lying might.

"Unfortunately, I think you're mistaking me for somebody else. What long-haired man?"

Kohaku-chan's eyes narrowed.

_Even mentioning Tsukasa-chan already makes her furious. I doubt she's ever even met him, so it must be because she's very protective of Senku-chan… but why?_

_Why is she determined to make his enemies also her enemies?_

_Hmm… the first reason could be that she's protective of him because she's her friend. Based on what Tsukasa-chan has told me, Senku-chan has been 'dead' for several weeks. They could have built up a friendship during that time._

_A second reason could be that she's acting this way because she owes Senku-chan some sort of debt. Maybe he helped her when she was in trouble, or gave her a gift of some sort, and defending him is her way of paying him back for what he's done for her, or what he's given her._

_A third reason could be that Senku-chan hasn't given her anything yet, but she wants him to. If there's something Senku-chan is capable of giving Kohaku-chan, something that will make her life better or make her happy, but she hasn't received it yet, she may just be keeping him alive until she gets whatever it is that she wants from him._

_And a fourth reason…_

If he didn't have three deadly weapons pointed at him, Gen would have laughed, because sometimes things really were just that simple.

_A fourth reason could be love. Is Kohaku-chan in love with Senku-chan?_

But he quickly dropped the idea.

_I doubt it. She wasn't jealous when Pigtail-chan tried to flirt with Senku-chan. As for him, he didn't speak to her at all… and he doesn't seem to be interested in romance. When Pigtail-chan asked him what kind of girl he likes, Senku-chan's reply was, "The kind of girl that can bring me tons of materials for ironmaking." What kind of girl gathers ironmaking materials?_

Gen continued lazily, as if he weren't in danger of being immediately stabbed by three different people, "Ever since I broke free from the stone… I've been all on my own…"

* * *

_In the future, Gen would find out that three of his four theories were already true._

_He would come to know that Kohaku-chan was good friends with Senku-chan. They really couldn't be otherwise after weeks and weeks of working together with Chrome-chan and Suika-chan. He would also learn about the sulfa drug roadmap, the painstaking labor the roadmap entailed, and that all of their effort was to heal Kohaku-chan's beloved older sister. And, much later, Gen would find out that Senku-chan saved Kohaku-chan's life the day they met… after Kohaku-chan had attacked Tsukasa-chan for killing "the gentleman sorcerer."_

_As for Gen's fourth theory about Kohaku-chan, it took quite a while, but it also ended up being true._

_With a lot of behind-the-scenes help from himself, Ruri-chan, Yuzuriha-chan, and several other like-minded individuals from the kingdom of science, the two oblivious morons eventually fell in love…_

_…a long, **long** time after Senku-chan called Kohaku-chan an "amazing" lioness due to her diligence in collecting iron sand the very first day the four of them gathered sand together near the bottom of the waterfall._

_Although when Senku-chan and Kohaku-chan finally officially announced their relationship, Gen's initial reaction was one of dismay. If they had **just** waited two more weeks, Gen would have won the betting pool…_

* * *

(End of Chapter Sixteen.) (11/01/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** Ahhh, Gen's chapter! Finally, ONE CHAPTER where I could actually describe interactions and facial expressions and motivations and possible relationships! I can't really do those things from Senku's point-of-view... XD In the manga, Senku tells Ruby that he likes the kind of girl who gathers a ton of ironmaking materials... and there's only one girl his age who helped him during those (incredibly long XD) weeks of collecting iron sand! Also, in the anime, Chrome talked to Kinro about his gold spear, but in the manga, it was actually Kohaku who pointed it out :D

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Gen's perspective and his analytical skills? :D

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Sixteen ("Gen")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	17. (S01 E09a) Pumping Oxygen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (21/01/20):** Hello, Anonymous, giacomoX, The Green Seer, Evelyn (9001668), Lu-chan 16Love, Ruby890, Kirana Retsu, Yandrik, andreasoledad1314, gabiemndz, and vwheel10! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the sixteenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! He almost won, though! XD Glad you liked seeing Gen! His smart, scheming self was analyzing everybody right from the start :D Looks like you were excited to see Gen! :D Even though he was a newcomer, he still noticed the way Senku and Kohaku saw each other... at least he did eventually :D He'll find out whether his theories are true or not! He broke down their actions and motivations in his head like the mentalist he is :D Gen tiene una perspectiva diferente de las ortras personas, entonces las ineracciones con Suika y Kohaku (y Chrome) destacaron a Gen. Kohaku no sabe todavia que ella estara con Senku, pero el pasara! XD Oh, awesome! This is NOT overkill at ALL! :D As a writer, I love going into detail like this! :D Gen is overpowered, but in the same way, I think a lot of characters in Dr, Stone are overpowered in their fields of specialty as well (like like Suika, Hyoga, and ESPECIALLY some manga characters). In the anime, Senku says that he likes girls who can pump oxygen, but in the manga, he says that he likes girls who can gather ironmaking materials. I used the manga version in my story to be as canon-compliant as possible :D That's an interesting point about Chrome's belt pouches... when I was writing the chapter, I think Gen's analysis of Chrome was trickier for me compared to his analyses of everybody else *nervous sweatdrop* so I can see what you mean about the comparison being farfetched! O.o Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me! ^_^ Estoy alegre que te gusto aquellos capitulos! Me gusto escribando acerca de Ruri y Suika :) The plot will definitely develop, especially since we have a new character for everybody else to interact with! :) Thank you so much for leaving reviews for thirteen chapters of my fanfic! O.O I'm glad you liked reading Ruri's thoughts; I enjoyed writing them! :D It's a good thing you like slow burn, because this will VERY slow burn XD I love Kohaku and Chrome's friendship, too! :) Haha! Actually, I chose not to put the gorilla thing in there, but I did put the lioness thing! :D Yup, gathering that much iron sand took a LONG time! Senku doesn't trust them completely yet :( But he's happy to eat sunflower seeds with Suika! :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: (S01 E09a) Pumping Oxygen**

* * *

Senku surveyed the scene before him. He wasn't surprised that Kohaku had managed to rope Kinro and Ginro into helping her surround the familiar-looking stranger threateningly with weapons – after all, Senku had personal experience that those two had no problem with approaching strangers threateningly with weapons.

_Ah, I know where I've seen him. Asagiri Gen is from the modern era, like me, so Tsukasa must have revived him. And if he's part of the Tsukasa Empire, he must know how Taiju and Yuzuriha are doing._

_I'll have to plan this out, though. While he's working hard at the furnace later, I'll ask a lot of subtle questions first before mentioning Taiju and Yuzuriha, because asking Gen about them immediately will make it look like I'm worried them and whether or not they're being treated properly._

When she heard Senku say that he had seen Asagiri Gen's face before, Kohaku lowered her weapons.

"An acquaintance of yours, Senku?"

"Not even for one millimeter," he replied, and the weapons went back up to join Kinro and Ginro's, whose spears were aimed at Gen's heart and spine.

"I know I'm in the wrong for eating your delicious ramen without permission, and I'm deeply sorry about that~"

_He doesn't look sorry in the slightest,_ thought Senku.

"…but a teeny, tiny bowl of ramen isn't a reason to threaten an innocent magician like me with weapons, is it? I'm shaking with fright at the thought," he said, giving a dramatic shudder that made the soup in Gen's ramen bowl swirl dangerously close to the edge.

Senku noticed that Ginro looked unusually concerned about that… and so did Gen, skillfully manipulating the younger guard to lower his weapon, releasing the magician's spine from the danger as the protection of the village was exchanged for a half-eaten bowl of ramen.

After seeing his brother abandon his duties so easily, Kinro was visibly annoyed, trying to keep his spear pointed at Gen's heart, but failing due to the occasional irate glances he shot at Ginro, which inadvertently kept making him lower his weapon.

Kohaku, however, had remained alert. Senku noticed her shoot a suspicious look at Gen's fingers before gripping her weapons tighter and focusing on his face once more, her gaze clear as she regarded the stranger who was now talking lightheartedly about the warm weather and the delicious smell of ramen.

And it was a good thing, too, because by the end of Gen's little speech, Kinro had stopped focusing on the stranger in their midst, choosing instead to scold his brother. Ginro had happily finished Gen's leftover ramen, gaining both a full stomach from the food and several sore lumps on his head courtesy of his older brother.

_Hmm… looks like we're getting off-track… The point is that they've eaten the ramen, so now it's time to make iron…_

"Well, if he's really just an innocent ramen eater, we'll just let him be," Senku said to Kohaku, who turned to look at him again, lowering her weapons slightly, but still keeping them pointed in Gen's direction.

Senku continued, addressing the crowd at large, "But free meals are things that don't exist. Everybody who ate any ramen will have to work!"

* * *

Most of the crowd look confused.

_They must not have expected that._

Senku gestured to Chrome.

"Chrome here will explain what we'll be doing today…"

As Senku walked a short distance away to whisper something to Suika, Chrome faced the crowd.

"Hey, everybody!" exclaimed Chrome happily, waving to the crowd. "We're going to make this crazy thing called 'iron' today! See these bamboo poles around this furnace? Four of us will stand…"

As the enthusiastic man explained the process of ironmaking, Kohaku gave Gen one last long look, checking up and down for any possible hidden weapons or tricks, before lowering her weapons to her side.

"Yes, each shift is four hours long."

"Yes, we'll have ramen for dinner – all you can eat!"

"No, you can't get out of this – you ate that insanely good ramen, so fair is fair!"

After Chrome had dealt with all of the crowd's questions, Suika, who had been in charge of keeping track of who ate the most ramen because those people would also have the most shifts, spoke to those who would take the first shift.

Senku watched as she arranged people around the furnace. Suika placed Ramen Eater and Pigtail Girl near the bamboo poles – and, following Senku's quiet instructions earlier, she included Gen in the first shift as well.

When Suika left Gen to get a fourth person, she was stopped by Kohaku, who exchanged a few words with Suika. After seeing Suika nod, Kohaku unstrapped her equipment from her back and gave Suika her shield and one of her knives. Kohaku then stepped up to the last remaining spot at the furnace, the spot on Gen's right, and placed her other knife at her feet for easy reach.

When they were all in place, Senku did some final checks and lit the fire underneath the pot of iron sand before standing back and giving the first four workers their signal.

"One… two… three… GO!"

They were a little slow at first, with all of them except for Kohaku not used to the exhausting labor of pumping oxygen into a furnace nonstop.

After the first two hours, the four of them were already getting tired, but they had found their rhythm and were rewarded by a great plume of black smoke, evidence that their hard work was bearing fruit.

Senku stepped up next to Gen.

_Time to ask some questions about the Tsukasa empire._

"Asagiri Gen. How are Taiju and Yuzuriha doing?"

* * *

(End of Chapter Seventeen.) (21/01/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** In the anime, Ruby, Gen, Ganen, and Shirogane were seen pumping oxygen for the furnace, but in the manga, it was Kohaku, Gen, Ganen, and Ruby, so I went with the manga version :D I find it interesting that Kohaku, in the manga, had the suspicious stranger to her left and the girl who showed interest in Senku to her right XD

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Senku's control and Kohaku's caution during this chapter? :D

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Seventeen ("Pumping Oxygen")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	18. (S01 E09b) Featherlight Words

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (01/03/20):** Hello, Evelyn (evelynmoore05), Lu-chan 16Love, Anonymous, Ruby890, CELESTE kaomy-chan, Donuty Reads, and Guest! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the seventeenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! It's good to have Gen here... finally somebody who can observe Senku and Kohaku! I'm happy to be following the manga; it has a lot of little things that the anime doesn't have! :D I'm glad it's getting interesting! Awesome; that was actually one of the most important parts of the chapter :D She doesn't know Gen yet, so Kohaku needs to be cautious! Hooray! I'll keep writing! :) Happy to meet another Senku/Kohaku shipper! I also hope Inagaki and Boichi go deeper into their relationship! :D Slow burn is a lot of fun to write! I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: (S01 E09b) Featherlight Words**

* * *

After letting Chrome decide which next four people were to take their turn on the furnace, Senku and Suika climbed into the shed of science. He needed to think about what having another modern-era person near the village would mean for his plans, and after he saw an exhausted Suika almost nod off to sleep as she slowly washed the bowls the villagers has used, he had instructed her to come up with him as well.

Moments later, Chrome followed them, also tired, but cheerful because of how the day had gone.

"Ganen's next turn is way later, but he's still staying down there to watch the others," said Chrome as he ducked his head to enter the storeroom. "I think he's getting interested in science!"

As endlessly fascinating Senku found science, he still thought it more likely that this Ganen – and any other villagers who may have stayed – had done so more to watch something new.

_Since metalworking had been non-existent at the village before I came along, the residents must be curious about what could require that much heat._

If that was the case, their curiosity could only work in Senku's favor.

"Senku, how long will we be pumping oxygen into the furnace?" asked Chrome as he sat down on the floor. "I want to see what this 'iron' thing looks like!"

"You've already seen it, Chrome," Senku said wryly. "We spent eight weeks collecting it. The constant pumping is making the furnace hotter, which we need to get the temperature we need. At this rate, we'll have a pot of melted iron before sunrise."

Upon hearing that, Chrome scooted closer to the entrance to poke out his head and check on everybody's progress – only to barely avoid bumping heads with Kohaku, who had been climbing up herself.

"That Asagiri Gen isn't a hard worker at all," Kohaku complained. Settling into a spot beside Suika, she continued, "He's working, but he's inefficient – and he's slowing down the people around him because he keeps talking to them."

_Doing exactly what I did to him earlier. The difference is that the villagers don't know that._

Chrome asked, "You mean because he's distracting them?"

"I doubt it," mused Senku. "Asagiri Gen may be from the Tsukasa Empire, but he's also from my time."

It was Kohaku's turn to be confused.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

_Asagiri Gen woke up in this stone world just like Taiju, Yuzuriha, and I did. He might be asking for information, but he wouldn't actively sabotage our efforts this early on. Being from the modern era, he has an idea of what ironmaking can lead to… and from what he said about cola, he misses things from home. From our time. Iron isn't cola, but it's _**something.**

After Senku didn't say anything, Kohaku continued her train of thought.

"He would sympathize with whoever was next to him – Unmo, for example – and then complain with them about how tough the work was. Then he would ask them about themselves and what they do in the village – all while talking in that way of his."

Suika stirred, stretching a little before going still again. Glancing at the sleeping girl, Kohaku put her hand on the watermelon mask and gave it a gentle rub. While the caress was, in Senku's opinion, almost pointless because Suika wouldn't have been able to feel it, the motion seemed to give Kohaku time to think about what she was going to say next.

"Remember the way he talked to me, Kinro, and Ginro when we had our weapons aimed at him? That light, airy tone he used – his words were light as a feather, and had the substance of a feather, too – empty; just a way to try and get us to trust him even when we shouldn't. People who talk like that, who just say what you want to hear…"

At that, Kohaku trailed off darkly, scowling at the open door of the shed of science, where the village's two islands as well as the large column of smoke that emanated from the furnace could be seen.

_Clearly, she doesn't trust Gen,_ thought Senku. _I don't either, but there's one thing we should know._

"We need to find out why he's here," he said to Chrome, Kohaku, and a sleeping Suika. "You don't approach an enemy that openly unless you have a clear goal…"

For some reason, his words pulled Kohaku out of her somber mood and made her grin.

"…or unless you have a backup plan. If we find out either of those, we can use the situation to our advantage," finished Senku.

"And if he's not that close to that Tsukasa guy, maybe we can make him part of the kingdom of science," Chrome said enthusiastically. "When he sees our 'iron,' he's going to think it's crazy!"

Kohaku rolled her eyes, but she was still grinning.

"Even **_you've_** never seen iron, Chrome."

"Yeah, but I know all about it from Senku! Iron's a type of metal and it's one of the most common types of metal there is and it turns different colors and you can get it from hematite and magnetite-"

As Chrome generously shared his iron knowledge with Kohaku, Senku saw her eyes go wide for a moment – before she shrugged easily and continued to listen to Chrome as she lay down on the floor behind Suika.

_Speaking of using a situation to your advantage…_

Smirking, he left the three of them, crawling out of the door to sit on the roof and think about his plans.

_Iron sand means iron bars, iron bars mean magnets, magnets mean electricity._

Electricity was everything to science. Science could do anything thanks to electricity. Electricity enabled power, and communication, and revival. It was the force behind power generators and cell phones and defibrillators.

But to get it, he needed iron.

_One small step at a time._

* * *

(End of Chapter Eighteen.) (01/03/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** In the manga (and anime), Ganen is the only villager who stays with Kohaku and the others to watch Senku pour the melted iron into the wooden mold to make the iron bar. So I wanted to use that detail :D (By the way, I tend to hide little hints and phrases in earlier chapters and refer to them in chapters that are published WAY later, so be on the lookout! :D)

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think about Kohaku's lack of trust in Gen, and about her way of using Chrome's scientific knowledge to help herself settle down and get some rest? XD

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Eighteen ("Featherlight Words")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	19. (S01 E09c) Iron Bars

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (07/03/20):** Hello, Kirana Retsu, karin150301, Evelyn (9001668), and Lu-chan 16Love! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the eighteenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! Chrome esta siempre entusiasmado acerca del metal :D Kohaku no confiar en Gen ahora porque el es con Tsukasa, tan ella sera desconfiada por mucho tiempo! That's the way Senku and Kohaku's relationship will develop, a lot of little moments that will lead to not-so-little moments :) Their conversation about Gen in the shed of science didn't happen in the manga or anime; that was one of my original scenes :D I'm glad you like reading about Senku's thoughts! :) They'll finally get their iron after so much iron sand collecting and ramen cooking! :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: (S01 E09c) Iron Bars**

* * *

The next morning, Senku and the others got to work – after he had a private word with Asagiri Gen, who had only been too happy to tell him that Senku's life was in his hands. While the fraud magician's intent was no doubt to instill some fear in him, Senku was far too focused on his goals for the day.

Senku had worn a protective apron of extra sturdy animal hide to prevent himself from being injured while pouring the melted iron into the wooden molds he had prepared in advance. Due to the rapidly cooling weather, the melted iron solidified quite quickly, allowing them to make the first two bars of iron in the stone world.

Senku smiled in satisfaction. He had seen iron in countless forms in his own era, but had to admit that no iteration of the twenty-sixth element of the periodic table that he had ever encountered in the past was quite as rewarding to see as the two simple, unassuming bars that he, Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika had made from the iron sand they had struggled to collect for eight whole weeks.

However, while his own reaction was fairly understated, the same could not be said of the others.

"Finally, we acquired iron!" Chrome yelled in triumph as he held up the first iron bar, while Kohaku expressed her happiness in the form of a delighted murmur.

"Iron! Iron! Iron!" sang Suika, dancing in a circle around him, holding out her small arms in glee as she celebrated with the rest. Ganen, who was standing nearby, likely had no idea at all what they wanted the iron for, but he was looking curiously at what Chrome held in his hand.

Gen chose to interrupt the moment with more insinuations about how important his role was in Senku's continued stay in the land of the living, but backtracked hastily when Suika asked a perfectly innocent question about a word she had never heard before.

After giving Suika a genuinely embarrassed apology, Gen continued slyly, "While ramen does taste good, I wouldn't want to work that hard for it every single day. I'd still pick Tsukasa at the end of the day~"

And that was when Kohaku issued her third death threat against Gen.

"Does a selfish, flimsy, thin-willed, worthless man like you really deserve to live, Asagiri Gen?" she hissed, smiling menacingly as she held out her daggers. "Death surely would be a better fate… or imprisonment, at the very least…"

Senku who was climbing the ladder to the shed of science, wasn't truly surprised that she had done so, but he did notice that she was not holding her weapons pointed down, in order to be able to strike at a moment's notice. Instead, Kohaku gripped her daggers in her hands while they were **_pointed up,_** as if she were holding Western eating utensils from the modern era and Gen were a particularly tasty meal.

_Heh. Kohaku won't know what that looks like, but Gen will._

And it seemed he certainly did, because Gen didn't look nearly as confident after that.

* * *

Several scientific preparations and one fraud magician's performance later, Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, Suika, and Gen ran as fast as they could out of the forest and past wide open fields.

Unfortunately, a lightning storm had started almost immediately after Senku had found the block of copper in Chrome's collection. While Senku did need lightning for his plans, it would have been far more preferable for it to have arrived after he had established several lightning rods in high places… although that would have meant needing enough iron bars to tie to all of them. Because the only had two bars, and because the lightning was already here, they had to run.

After she had gotten directions from Chrome, Kohaku, with her typical speed, had taken the lead, with Chrome behind her and Suika after him, sometime running, sometimes rolling inside her watermelon mask.

_I still… have to… figure out… how she does that…_ thought Senku haltingly, panting as he tried to keep up.

However, he and Gen both lagged behind. Being from the modern era, Senku and Gen weren't used to such extreme physical exertion. While pumping oxygen for the iron had exhausted Senku, hasn't been trying to work fast enough to catch up to lightning at the time.

Now, Senku was trying his best to run as fast as he could, but it said something about his stamina when a self-proclaimed mentalist wearing bothersome traditional robes and running barefoot was still able to slightly outpace him… even though Chrome and Gen both had objects tied to their backs.

At long last, they arrived at the base of what Chrome had referred to as a "bald mountain." Senku was relieved that they were closer than ever to magnets, and therefore, electricity… but he was so exhausted from all that running he could barely even stand, let alone climb.

But for science, Senku would do anything.

He reached out with one arm to touch the mountain…

…only to stop when Kohaku held her own arm out, blocking him.

_What…?_

"Senku," she said seriously as she held his gaze, "we need to climb this mountain quickly, right?"

"Yeah; we need to get to the top as soon as possible," Senku replied, wondering why she had stopped him. "We need to hurry so that we can get there before the lightning stops."

At his reply, Kohaku nodded in determination, and Senku thought that was that…

…until she grabbed his shoulders and turned him around, and before Senku knew it, he was being… **_carried…_** up the mountain?

"Kohaku!"

* * *

(End of Chapter Nineteen.) (07/03/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** They finally have the iron they worked so hard to gather iron sand for! ^_^ I didn't include her second death threat in this fanfic, but it happened between Chapters Seventeen and Eighteen. It was only while writing this chapter that I noticed that Kohaku had held her weapons like that, like she was going to tear into Gen and eat him for breakfast O.o Kohaku carrying Senku up the mountain is a manga-only moment :D Wish it had happened in the anime, too... XD

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Kohaku's protectiveness and about Senku's stamina? :D

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Nineteen ("Iron Bars")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	20. (S01 E09d) Catching Lightning

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (01/05/20):** Hello, Ruby890, Evelyn (9001668), karin150301, Lu-chan 16Love, Phantomfray, LunarButterfly121423, Shiraneko-chan, pika pika, Le055Li0n, and Guest! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the nineteenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! I love this couple, too! :) Sadly, this kind of thing is Senku's weakness! XD There are many meaningful moment between Senku and Kohaku, and I look forward to writing about them all! :D Kohaku was very strong to be able to do that! The manga has a lot of good hidden moments, doesn't it? :D I'm glad we have the same opinion on their slow burn! :) My fanfic will be completely canon-compliant! With that said, I also plan on writing scenes that we didn't see in the manga, but COULD have happened and the manga just didn't show us :d I have some wonderful scenes in mind for future chapters! Uh-oh, you don't want get head lumps like Chrome, do you? XD That manga panel of Senku being carried was just one panel, but it was still really cute! :) Gen will be sticking around for a while, until he has to go back to Tsukasa :) Yay, I've updated! I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: (S01 E09d) Catching Lightning**

* * *

Being carried up a mountain by the scruff of his coat, as if Senku were a little kitten, was undignified – but it yielded good results, and Senku always respected results. Kohaku kept a firm hold on him as she deftly jumped from one rock to the other, not being slowed down by Senku's weight in the slightest, unwavering despite the loud crashes of thunder that reverberated throughout the fields and mountains as well as the droplets of steady rain that could have made her lose her footing.

But Kohaku didn't.

It was only when they were very near the top that she set him down on a particularly large rock on the side of the mountain, and after waiting a few moments for the others to catch him, Senku and Chrome climbed the remaining feet side by side as Senku told him about Peter Wasilewski, the man who conducted countless experiments to create magnets from lightning.

Today, thousands of years later, Senku and Chrome would continue their fellow scientist's work.

"Chrome," he murmured, trying to catch his breath as he looked sideways at the other man, "what we're going to do now will be the fruit of your ten years of exploration!"

"Awesome!"

After they finally reached the top of the mountain, Chrome quickly untied the pack he had carried up the mountain on his back and handed Senku the iron bars they had created as well as couple of the wooden poles, taking two poles for himself as well before abandoning the rest as they urgently scanned their surroundings for a place to set up a lightning rod.

After trying, and failing, to jam their wooden poles into the stony surface of the mountaintop, they both knew it was an exercise in futility.

"We won't make it in time!" Chrome exclaimed in distress, his brow furrowed as he glared at the lightning. "There isn't enough time to make a tower!"

_We have lightning, but we don't have a lightning rod,_ thought Senku, frowning. _We're here with two iron bars, but no lightning rods to make them into magnets…_

Kohaku, who had been watching their efforts worriedly, muttered to herself, "We need something long… something we can stick into the ground… something with a sharp end… **OH!**"

Guessing that she had somehow come up with a plan, Senku turned to Kohaku – only to be puzzled by the distinctly feline look of mischievousness on her face.

_What is she-_

"No! Noo! Anything but my spear!"

After hearing Kinro's distraught cry – and wondering at the back of his mind about who was guarding the village, since the two people charged with the important task had chosen go mountain climbing – Senku felt Kohaku grab the two iron bars from him right before she performed a type of cartwheel that allowed her to kick Kinro's spear into the air.

And after a second leap, during which she seemed to have used her impressive eyesight to quickly judge the angle of the spear's circular movements so that she could grab the middle of the weapon's shaft, Kohaku, clutching the spear, was high up in the air, far above the humans beings and the stones on the bald mountain.

An impressive feat, to be sure – but extremely risky during a lightning storm.

* * *

Despite lightning itself moving very quickly, the process that led to its creation always began quietly, when the combination of heat and air formed clouds in the sky. It was only when clouds merged to form bigger clouds that rain formed, and when some of that rain was swept back into the cloud, the cold temperature turned them into ice crystals, and later on, hail.

That hail crashed against each other inside clouds to the point of dislodging electrons, resulting in positively charged and negatively charged hailstones. The hailstones then separated into two groups, infusing the cloud with electricity and creating lightning.

Even though it was dangerous, only small amounts of lightning, at least relatively speaking, ever made contact with the Earth. Ninety percent of lightning bolts stayed in the atmosphere, raging mostly harmlessly inside clouds. But the remaining ten percent added up to ten million individual bolts that actually hit the surface of the Earth, with more than one hundred lightning strikes taking place every second.

Before the petrification of the world, those ten million bolts killed thousands every day with lightning strikes that were less than an inch thick, but miles and miles long and hotter than the surface of the sun. They could strike at any time, even on a clear summer's day, which was why while standing on top of a bald mountain was bad enough, leaping into the air and grabbing a long object was even more dangerous.

High up in the air, Kohaku quickly used one hand to untie her hair and then wound the short length of rope around the end of the spear and the iron bars, using her teeth to tug the rope in order to make sure the two iron bars would stay bound to the spear.

As she fell to the ground, she clutched the spear with both hands and one leg, putting as much of her weight on it as possible in order to drive the sharp, golden end of the weapon into the ground, and Senku watched as Kohaku jumped out of the way just in time…

…before a white-hot bolt of lightning crashed violently from the clouds down onto the makeshift lightning rod, infusing with raw electric energy the first real magnets the world had seen in three thousand seven hundred years.

* * *

(End of Chapter Twenty.) (01/05/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** Hello, everybody! I got these lightning facts from a documentary, but if I got anything wrong, I hope you'll tell me! :) I wanted Senku to recognize the risk Kohaku was (unknowingly, but still) taking for him, but without putting too much emotion into it (because that would have been out-of-character). And since Senku knows a LOT about so many different scientific topics, it made sense to me that he would know very specific things about lightning, too :D

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Senku's lightning knowledge? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty ("Catching Lightning")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	21. (S01 E09e) Climbing Down

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (10/05/20):** Hello, Evelyn (Evelyn Moore), karin150301, heywhoknewit, PuppyCake, Daniela, Lu-chan 16Love, and Shiraneko-chan! ^_^ Thank you so much and muchas gracias for reviewing the twentieth chapter of No Stone Unturned! I'm glad to hear that! As for where it'll go, the last line of this chapter will give you a hint about the next one! :D Hurra! Me gusta mucho la conexion de Senku y Kohaku porque ellos respetan tambien los talentos y etica laboral de los unos de los otros :) In-character writing is something incredibly important to me as a fanfic writer, so that is so nice to hear! ^_^ I'm happy you're reading and enjoying my story! I'll keep on doing my best! :) I'm looking forward to Season Two as well! Si, aun tan en etapas tempranas, Senku ya respetaba la abilidad de Kohaku trabajar duro y quedarse concentrado por la tarea, y el es igual en Capitulo Veinte! :) Jumping like that really was risky for Kohaku - she barely managed to jump out of the way in time! O.o No OOC-ness? That's good! :D I hope you stay safe as well! :) I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One: (S01 E09e) Climbing Down**

* * *

The rain stopped immediately after that final lightning strike.

After giving Kohaku a small length of rope for her hair to replace the cord she had lost in tying the iron bars to the spear – and after teaching her that the magnets they had created were meant to be held a certain way in order for their attractive properties to take effect – Senku led the others down the mountain.

Or, at least, he tried to.

"Come on, Senku!" yelled Chrome enthusiastically from around thirty-five feet below. Despite the man's rock shoes, he had no issue with descending the mountain despite the fact that it had just rained. "We need to get back so that we can start making that electricity stuff!"

But climbing down was much more difficult – and time-consuming – than climbing up, and that wasn't just because Senku had been carried by the scruff of his coat like a little kitten. Climbing up was tiring because you were defying gravity the entire time, but because your eyes were near the top of your body, it was much easier to see where you were going.

However, climbing down was different – even if you were to bend your head to gauge distance and safe places to place your feet, you had to maneuver your body slightly out of the way in order to see as much as possible, causing a shift in gravity that was not ideal in a situation when the smallest of incorrect movements could send you plummeting to the ground.

After holding on to the rocks carefully, Senku looked down to check on everybody's progress.

Suika, with her short legs as well as with Senku's growing suspicions about her eyesight, was having some difficulty in climbing down, was receiving cheerful guidance from Chrome, who was on her right side and was likely to be a credible source given the amount of time he spend exploring mountains just like this one.

Kinro, despite his obvious intent to keep away from Senku and Chrome's so-called sorcery as well as the members of the kingdom of science in general, was surprisingly close to Suika as they climbed down the mountain. He was taking one downward step after another with precision, descending the mountain at the same pace as the girl beside him – and, after a moment of consideration, Senku knew why Kinro had chosen to climb down next to Suika.

_Because,_ he thought, _Kinro's a guard._

The remaining person below was Ginro, who was the furthest away from Senku, so he couldn't hear the younger guard's chatter too clearly. Senku would have expected him to be slightly more fearful considering the high probability of death, but it seemed that his cheerfulness at Kinro's loss of the gold spear that Ginro had never been able to borrow was giving him the courage to move down the mountain with only minimal hesitation.

And then there were the remaining three of them – Senku, Asagiri Gen, and Kohaku – who were descending in an almost perfect row.

Senku was going down slowly because he was trying to not die, and Gen, who was between Senku and Kohaku, was moving at the same pace – probably because, as somebody who was also from the modern era, Gen likely wasn't used to physical exertion of this level. He seemed to be slightly more athletic than Senku, given that he was able to climb up the mountain in the first place without being carried, but due to Senku's lack of stamina and physical skill, and Gen's being barefoot and having to be more careful than anybody else about where he placed his feet, their unique disadvantages made them move almost as slowly as each other.

The third member of their small, slow party, Kohaku, looked unbothered by the effort of climbing down the mountain. Instead of choosing to stay next to more familiar people, such as Senku himself or one of the other members of the kingdom of science, Kohaku had surprisingly chosen to situate herself on Gen's right, keeping an obvious close eye on him the entire time.

After seeing that everybody was on track, Senku took a breath and resumed climbing down the mountain. Gen and Kohaku, who had paused when he had, began to do the same.

* * *

Much later, all seven of them arrived at the Chrome's shed of science.

Kinro gave Senku's group a baleful look before morosely walking in the direction of the bridge, and, after grinning and waving at the four members of the kingdom of science and one stranger in farewell, Ginro, with a spring in his step, followed his brother back to their post. Kohaku, after a long look at Gen, seemed to judge that he wouldn't be an immediate threat due to his exhaustion and headed for her earthenware pot, clearly intending on going to the hot spring to fetch water, while Suika went to greet Chalk and give him a belly rub.

Cradling the new magnets with pride, Chrome turned to Senku in excitement.

"Are we going to make electricity now?"

"Not yet," Senku replied. "First, we have to use wood to make molds for the copper discs and copper wires that we're going to need. Second, we need to dig out all the copper you have out of your shed, and fix the furnace since there's a hole in the side after we smashed it to get the melted iron out. And third, since we'll need manpower to melt all that copper, we need to gather cooking ingredients all over again, because…"

He raised his arm and pointed at their cart.

"…we're going to open Senku's Ramen Shop 2.0!"

* * *

(End of Chapter Twenty-One.) (10/05/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** So, while I was writing the previous chapter (Chapter Twenty) I was rereading the manga as well, and I found out that Senku and the others actually made three iron bars in the manga, instead of just the two that we saw in the anime. So I'll need to go back and correct that detail, haha XD We didn't see their "going down the mountain" journey in the manga or anime, so... here it is! XD

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Senku's observations as he climbed down? :)

**III****. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty-One ("Climbing Down")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	22. (S01 E09f) Breakfast Questions

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (24/05/20):** Hello, PuppyCake, AbyssDragonslayer777, karin150301, Lu-chan 16Love, Shiraneko-chan, Lupa Lazuli, pikapika, Le055li0n, and Phantomfray! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the twenty-first chapter of No Stone Unturned! Haha, we'll get to the electricity chapter eventually! :D Thanks for reading! It's fun writing Senku's thoughts and unraveling them! Stamina is something he needs to work on XD Yup, I agree! He's a leader that watches over people. I hope you stay safe as well! That's great to hear! It won't be a perspective chapter, but we'll be seeing a little more of Kohaku, Senku, and Gen in the next chapter (Chapter Twenty-Three) :D Senku still hasn't completely figured out the deal with Suika's eyesight, but he will! XD I'm glad you liked reading about everybody! Yup, your first guess is right - that's exactly it! :D Because Suika is a young child, Kinro wanted to do his duty and stay close in order to be able to help her if she needs it. I'm so happy you spotted that! :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: (S01 E09f) Breakfast Questions**

* * *

The next day, after Senku woke up and climbed down the ladder of the shed of science, he saw that Kohaku had left a dead deer by the bonfire area, no doubt intending it to be everybody's breakfast. With her earthenware pot gone, it wasn't too difficult to guess what she had left to go do, and, like usual, Senku took some tools and started to prepare the deer.

Like their usual mornings, Suika probably was already out in the forest fetching firewood and vegetables, Chrome would wake up and help Senku, and the three of them would have breakfast prepared in time to eat with Kohaku after she dropped off the hot spring water inside the village.

Ten minutes later, after he had divided the deer into different sections, Senku was surprised to hear Suika's voice.

"Thanks for your help, Gen! Chalk and I normally have to use long sticks when we want to get apples!"

_She's back this soon? Looks like she went with Gen this morning._

"You're very welcome, Suika-chan," said Gen in a cheerful tone as they both walked closer to Senku. "I'm sure these beautiful red apples will be very delicious~"

As they approached him, Suika, whose small arms filled with edible plants, attempted to shift some of them onto her left arm so that she could wave to him.

"Good morning, Senku!"

"Ah, good morning, Senku-chan~"

Before Senku could return their greetings, he heard the door of the shed of science creak open and turned in that direction. Seconds later, a sleepy Chrome poked his head out of the shed.

"Oh! Is that deer! That's great! Did Kohaku catch that?"

At Senku's nod, Chrome quickly climbed down the ladder and sat down next to Senku.

"Looks like breakfast is going to be good! I was so busy last night that I forgot to eat…"

Senku gave a grin.

After going over the next few steps with Chrome and Gen, Gen had shuffled off into the forest to lie down and get some rest, but Senku and Chrome, who were excited about their three new and very powerful magnets, had spent hours testing the magnetism of the variety of metals in Chrome's shed and discussing why some were easier to attract using the magnet than others before falling asleep.

Chrome picked up some tools lying by the bonfire and sat down next to him in front of the deer.

"Let me help you with that, Senku…"

* * *

After Senku and Chrome prepared the deer, Gen arranged the firewood, Chrome and Suika cooked the stew, and Kohaku arrived, the five of them settled around the cooking pot with their full bowls.

"Ah, this looks delicious!" exclaimed Gen, bringing his bowl closer to his nose to inhale the scent of his hot food. "I haven't had meat in so long!"

"You haven't?" Chrome asked, puzzled. "Why not? This is a good season for hunting and trapping – it's when winter comes that finding food is crazy hard!"

Gen shook his head.

"Nope… I've been eating fruits and nuts and wild berries, mostly. Berries are very useful, you know~" he laughed, placing a hand above his heart as if personally attesting to the wonderful qualities of wild berries.

"Berries are fine, but stew is still the best!" Chrome said good-naturedly before digging enthusiastically into his breakfast.

Senku saw that Suika, on the other hand, was using her chopsticks to find a tasty morsel to give to Chalk. After she did so, her dog barked in thanks and ran around happily, knowing that there would be more to come later. Another glance told him that Kohaku had watched the interaction, smiling fondly at the girl before turning to her own bowl.

_Definitely better than bland roasted mushrooms,_ Senku thought with a grin as he took hold of his chopsticks, remembering his first few days after breaking free of the petrification.

As Gen helped himself to a cube of meat and chewed, his eyes closed in happiness, Chrome, who was spooning himself a second share from the large cooking pot, asked Kohaku a question.

"How was Ruri today?"

"She's fine," Kohaku replied simply, blowing on her soup to cool the broth.

Senku noticed that her eyes had shifted towards Gen, who was still slowly chewing the same piece of deer meat with a smile on his face, as she answered Chrome's question – however, Chrome, who had been looking at his own bowl of food at the time, had not seen her caution, and continued to speak.

"That's good! I can't wait until we make this cure-all antibiotic thing and heal her for good!"

Upon hearing the word 'antibiotic,' Gen's eyes immediately opened in surprise.

While Senku was no mind reader, he knew exactly what his fellow modern era person was thinking as Gen mouthed the medical term to himself – that making an antibiotic was impossible in this stone world.

In the space of a few seconds, Senku could see the words echoing in Gen's head – Ruri, antibiotic, heal – and piece the information together – that Ruri was a sick person Chrome and Kohaku cared about, and that she was sick enough to require not just food and rest, but a very specific type of medicine.

Somehow, possibly due to her battle instincts, Kohaku averted her eyes from Gen just before he sent a curious glance in her direction.

After seeing that he couldn't obtain any more information without asking a direct question, Gen turned to Chrome and did just that.

"Chrome-chan? Who's Ruri-chan?"

* * *

(End of Chapter Twenty-Two.) (24/05/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** We never saw in the anime or the manga exactly when or how Gen found out about the cure-all roadmap, and everything happened so fast after his arrival (rushing to make the iron bars and climb up the mountain), so I'm going to guess it happened around this time - after they created the magnets, but before he was "murdered" by Magma the night Senku made electricity :O

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Gen's curiosity about Ruri? :)

**III. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty-Two ("Breakfast Questions")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	23. (S01 E09g) Breakfast Intelligence

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (01/06/20):** Hello, ZxVelo, Phantomfray, Wyote, pikapika, PuppyCake, BorbFan28, and Lu-chan 16Love! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the twenty-second chapter of No Stone Unturned! Glad to hear it! :) You brought up so many interesting points about Gen! :D He doesn't know (but Tsukasa does) that Senku wouldn't lie about science, but Gen does know now that, like you said, there are more benefits to joining the kingdom of science than just foxtail ramen, and that he should think carefully about where to give his allegiance :D Thank you! I also really like this part of the series because their collaboration and friendship feel more intimate, being a smaller group right now :) Chrome's so excited about what they're doing that he can't help but talk about it :D And that's exactly why berries are very useful! XD Actually, the chapter you're about to read involves Senku and Kohaku... and Gen XD I'm happy to hear that! I like writing writing about the conversations and interactions that might have happened that we didn't see :D Thanks! Looks like you're about to find out! XD I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three: (S01 E09g) Breakfast Intelligence**

* * *

"Chrome-chan? Who's Ruri-chan?"

Senku saw that Chrome opened his mouth and was just about to answer when Suika beat him to it.

"She's our village priestess, and she tells us all kinds of stories, like the one about Momotaro!"

Gen's eyes widened.

"Momotaro? Really?"

He glanced at Senku questioningly, but Suika, who thought the question was directed at her, replied, "Yup! She told us that Momotaro was…"

As Gen raised his eyebrows in bewilderment at listening to a Japanese folktale from a little girl who was born in the stone world, Kohaku, who was sitting a few feet to Senku's right, got up and went to the cooking pot to scoop more broth into her bowl before sitting down right next to Senku.

"Senku," she murmured as she kept her eyes on Gen, who was listening to Suika tell Ruri's version of Momotaro, "who was Asagiri Gen in your time? How did you know about him?"

"Gen was an entertainer, a fake sorcerer," he replied.

She turned her head a little to look at him, confused.

"How can people be entertained by sorcery?"

"Well," said Senku conversationally, "for the most part, people knew it was fake sorcery, so instead of scaring them, it made them laugh."

"What kind of sorcery did he do?"

Senku was by no means an expert on television pseudo-celebrities – in fact, the little he knew about Gen was from his classmates who had been discussing Gen's bogus psychology book the day of the petrification – but he did his best to answer Kohaku's question.

"Gen made objects disappear from people's eyes, like he did with Magma, and he…" _How am I supposed to explain card tricks to somebody who's never seen cards, or even paper?_ "…he took small objects from his sleeves and put them in unexpected places."

"Unexpected places…" Kohaku repeated after him, looking at her bowl of food with a frown, "…I see…"

She was clearly concerned about poison, but Senku, who had watched Gen closely while Chrome and Suika were cooking the stew, knew that the food was safe. After all, he didn't want to die twice in the same year.

"I watched-"

But before Senku could continue, he was distracted by Suika's voice.

"…And after he met the bear, Momotaro met… um…"

She slumped sadly.

"I'm sorry; I don't remember the rest of the story… but Kohaku might!" Suika said, brightening up again. "She's Ruri-nee's sister, so she probably knows a lot of the stories!"

"Oh?" asked an intrigued Gen, turning to Kohaku. "So Ruri-chan is your sister, Kohaku-chan?"

* * *

At Gen's question, Kohaku gripped her bowl of untouched stew so hard that her fingertips turned white, and Senku knew why.

_I saved her life the day we met, but Kohaku still slept with her weapons ready and didn't mention Ruri at all until the next morning._

_When she knew for sure I wasn't a threat._

_But Gen hasn't built up that kind of goodwill with her, so she'll probably explode… right about… now._

"She is!" Kohaku said cheerfully with a wide grin.

_…That was unexpected…_

"I don't spend a lot of time with her, but I help her when I can," she finished, smiling.

Gen blinked in confusion, probably at the change in Kohaku's demeanor, but from his small shrug, Senku deduced that Gen thought the change from Kohaku's normally suspicious attitude towards him was due to her happiness at speaking about her sister.

And, like the mentalist he was, he pressed on with his perceived advantage.

"Do you hunt for her as well?" asked Gen. "This meat tasted so good… she's very lucky to have a sister like you!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she beamed. "You know, hunting's not that hard. I can teach you, if you'd like?"

Chrome and Suika were watching their conversation with interest, but Senku was getting more and more perplexed at Kohaku's behavior. Maybe Gen **_had_** been able to slip something in that stew…

"I don't think I can learn," Gen murmured regretfully, "I'm good with my hands, but something like hunting would be too hard for somebody like me…"

"Oh, no, I insist!" she replied, still looking cheerful and accommodating. "Hunting is very useful, after all!"

At that, Gen tilted his head to gaze at her.

He seemed to realize that something fishy was going on, but, like Senku, Gen didn't know what it was, and didn't want to risk offending the person who had previously been so opposed to him without a solid reason to do so.

"Well… I suppose I… can't say no to such a cute girl~" said Gen happily, but he looked slightly wary as he slowly set down his empty bowl.

"That's wonderful!" squealed Kohaku. "We're going to have **_so_** much fun hunting together!"

At her excited squeal, Gen narrowed his eyes at Kohaku, appearing to have suddenly arrived at some conclusion Senku had not, and said, "Actually, never mind, I'll just-"

But Kohaku had already set down her own bowl, and, quick as lightning, she leaped behind Gen and grabbed him by the back of his robes before leaning down to speak to him.

"I'll teach you how to hunt. I'm _**very**_ good at catching and killing things that try to run away from me," said Kohaku ominously, no longer cheerful, no longer accommodating. "Let me show you, Asagiri Gen."

_A threat… So_ **that's**_ why she was acting like that!_

As she hauled a protesting Gen away from the breakfast campfire, Senku, who was entirely amused, called out, "Don't take longer than two weeks! We should have the noodles ready by then!"

"Two weeks?!" Gen blurted out.

Kohaku gave Senku a backwards wave in acknowledgement…

…as she continued to drag the now-terrified mentalist by the back of his robes into the waiting forest.

* * *

(End of Chapter Twenty-Three.) (01/06/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** In the anime and manga, Kohaku threatened to fight Kinro and Ginro after they tried to attack Senku, and she barely knew him then. If she perceived somebody as a threat against RURI... O.O And you know the "dragging Gen away by the robes" thing that Kaseki and Senku usually do to Gen? Well, in my fanfic, Kohaku was the one who started that trend! XD

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Kohaku and Gen's conversation? :O

**III. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty-Three ("Breakfast Intelligence")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	24. (S01 E09h) Furnace Repairs

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (09/06/20):** Hello, Lu-chan 16Love, Lupa Lazuli, PuppyCake, pikapika, BorbFan28, karin150301, and Phantomfray! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the twenty-third chapter of No Stone Unturned! I'm sure Gen will learn a lot during his time with Kohaku! :) A running gag indeed :D Ah, if only XD He was so young... :D That's a "complaint" that I'm more than happy to receive! :) Scenes that could have happened are fun to write! :D Senku is practical about everything, even about kitten Gen XD I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four: (S01 E09h) Furnace Repairs**

* * *

After watching the two disappear into the forest, Senku turned back to Chrome and Suika, who had watched the sudden turn of events in silence. As they finished their breakfast, they discussed what they thought Kohaku would make Asagiri Gen do.

Not having heard Kohaku's final words to Gen at the campfire before she dragged him off, Suika had taken the conversation at face value and assumed that Gen's experience would be very educational. Chrome, who had received painful lumps from the woman on more than one occasion, guessed that Gen would have a mountain of them on his head by the time the two of them reappeared.

However, Senku remembered that Kohaku had only deflected Kinro and Ginro's weapons when they tried to attack Senku, rather than harming them outright. Not only that, but with the exception of the second arithmetic battle, Kohaku had only given such lumps to Chrome, who she clearly considered a friend. With these facts in mind, Senku, unlike the other two, thought that rather than education or pain, Kohaku would fill the next two weeks of Gen's life with fear.

_I guess we'll see when they come back._

By the time they finished cleaning up after breakfast, the three of them were clear on their tasks for the day. Suika would gather solidifying clay, while Senku and Chrome were to make new sandstone bricks to repair the furnace, just like the two of them did during the fifth week they all gathered iron sand.

Finding sandstone wasn't the problem, since they had obviously located the right type of stone in order to build the furnace in the first place, but shaping it was. Without Kohaku there to quickly pound the stone into submission, Senku and Chrome had to resort to their old method of breaking large boulders and then hitting the sides of said boulders with whatever they had on hand in order to make blocks that were the right size.

Unfortunately, that method took a few hours per block, and they had around one fourth of the furnace to reconstruct.

In the end, they decided to adopt the same routine they had during that fifth week – spend several hours creating a few sandstone blocks, then use the rest of the day to collect iron sand in the river.

Luckily, Senku, Chrome, and Suika now had the magnets to help them collect iron sand. Not only were they more powerful than the natural magnets they had used previously, but they also had a greater surface area, allowing the three of them to gather more iron sand more quickly than before.

Eventually, after over a week of hard work, Senku and Chrome managed to shape the needed amount of stone blocks, carry them back to the camp, and smooth them down to make bricks. After crushing some more seashells from the many bags of the stuff they still had, the new stone bricks, along with a combination of mortar and solidifying clay, helped them repair up the furnace, which, after a few days of baking in the hot sun, looked almost as good as new, and Senku, Chrome, and Suika celebrated the completion of the repairs with a grilled fish dinner before going to sleep. Fortunately, the next step in their plans would take much less effort.

* * *

As it turned out, the next step in their plans would take more effort than they had assumed.

After trying – and only barely succeeding – at what he had attempted to do, Senku handed the tools in his hands to Chrome. Perhaps, with his better stamina, speed, and experience with sharp objects, he would yield more favorable results.

"Okay, here I… go!" shouted Chrome as he ran ahead a few feet, right into a field of green foxtail grass, and spread his arms outward, hoping to slash as many stalks as he could for their ramen.

Unfortunately, while Kohaku had known how used the momentum she had gained from running to support her arms' rapid movement, Chrome did not. Once surrounded by foxtail grass, he had used small steps to try to stop his running as quickly as possible, but doing so distracted him from directing that energy to his arms, and he ended up making his slashes and separate coordinated movement altogether.

Still, he did better than Senku, who had cut fewer stalks than Chrome using the same method.

_Knowing about momentum and being able to **use** momentum are two different things,_ Senku thought, shaking his head.

After Chrome's attempt, they **_could_** have had the third member of their party, Suika, try her hand at slashing the foxtail grass. But being much younger and smaller than the other two, Suika's short arms would result in hardly any stalks being cut anyway.

In the end, Senku and Chrome ended up walking steadily through the field, cutting several stalks at a time with Suika staying between them, holding a large wicker basket to gather the foxtail grass they had obtained. It helped that from their previous ramen shop, they had a rough idea of how much they needed to gather.

As the three of them moved forward, Suika also occasionally knelt to pick up the foxtail grass that the wind blew from Senku and Chrome's hands as they placed their stalks in the basket – and after noticing the way Suika patted the ground with her hand when she did so, as if knowing that some stalks had fallen but not being able to easily pinpoint their exact locations, Senku had another piece of evidence that her eyesight wasn't what it ought to be.

* * *

(End of Chapter Twenty-Four.) (09/06/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** In the anime, Chrome made a relatively small hole to get the melted iron out of the furnace to make the iron bars. But in the manga, they made a HUGE hole - it was an irregularly shaped hole that even went up to the "bottleneck" part of the furnace, and lower part of said hole was about as tall as Senku (including his hair) and as wide as him when he was wearing his thick protective gear :)

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of their furnace repairing and foxtail grass gathering struggles? :D

**III. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty-Four ("Furnace Repairs")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	25. (S01 E09i) Displeased Canine

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (08/10/20):** Hello, leiahackett, PuppyCake, pikapika, Phantomfray, Lu-chan 16Love, DracoSoull, and Ishigami Tatiana! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the twenty-fourth chapter of No Stone Unturned! I'm glad this fanfic grew on you! I love the way they trust each other, and we'll be seeing how that came to be in this fanfic :D We're getting closer to when they make glass, aren't we? Kohaku's help makes things go faster for sure :P And she wants to make sure that Gen knows the right things about her capabilities XD The next one is... here! :D Kohaku can help them even more when she comes back! I agree; I love this ship! :D I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five: (S01 E09i) Displeased Canine**

* * *

It took several trips, but Senku, Chrome, and Suika, with Chalk barking excitedly at their feet, eventually managed to pile a large quantity of the plants, which they held in place by placing a few animal skins on top of the stalks to prevent them from flying in the breeze.

_We'll need more of these skins before we start building the glassblowing furnace,_ Senku thought, _but Kohaku and Gen should be back before then._

When lunchtime arrived, Chrome briefly ducked into the woods to check his traps. He came out with two rabbits in his hands and a disturbed look on his face.

"Is something wrong?" asked Senku.

Chrome paused for a moment, now looking slightly guilty as he shrugged, clearly not wanting to discuss whatever it was.

_What's up with him?_

After they had lunch, Senku uncovered the harvested foxtail grass and started handing out bundles to Chrome and Suika, his movements tracked by Chalk's eyes the whole while, making Suika coo at his attentiveness, but putting Senku on his guard – which was the only reason he was able to jump out of the way when, after he had walked to a rock and was starting to sit down in front of it, the dog barked loudly before snapping at Senku's ankle.

_Not again!_ Senku thought in slight dismay, having managed to jump on top of the rock, holding his bundle of foxtail grass at arm's length both to redirect Chalk's gaze as well as to balance himself.

"Chalk?!" Suika blurted out, surprised at her normally cheerful dog's actions. "What's wrong?"

Uncharacteristically, the dog ignored her and started to growl at Senku.

_Hmm... Chalk looks just as disapproving as last time..._

"Chrome, can you go up to your shed and put some pieces of dried meat in one of the spare pouches?"

"Sure thing!"

_Ramen for the villagers, dried meat for Chalk. A bribe's a bribe._

When Chrome returned with the requested pouch, Senku set down his foxtail grass and took the pouch from Chrome with a nod of thanks. While he had been able to distract the dog last time, the others had lost Senku's portion of work for most of the day. But with Kohaku still in the forest, they couldn't afford a second decrease in their manpower.

_Which leaves me with one option... a weird option, but it just might work... and then I can get back to work getting those foxtail millet grains to make ramen._

With that, Senku took one small piece of dried meat out of the pouch and offered it to Chalk, who, which still displeased, was also still a dog, and gobbled the treat right up. Immediately afterward, Senku took a few steps back before bending down to offer Chalk a second piece, which was also snatched from his fingers and munched upon. Repeating the process several times, Senku walked backwards and kept giving Chalk pieces of dried meat as he led the dog to the woods, but not before instructing Chrome and Suika to start working on the foxtail grass.

A few minutes later of walking backwards, when the trees were thick enough that he could no longer see the shed of science, Senku stopped both his movement and his treat giving, making Chalk, who had come to expect delicious things to eat at regular intervals, to stop as well. The dog, now in a slightly better mood, tilted his head at Senku, watching as he sat down at the foot of a tree in order to look at Chalk in the eye.

Senku heard a slight rustle behind him, but paid it no mind as he focused on the dog in front of him, who had also settled into a sitting position and was now gazing at him warily, but curiously.

"Now, Chalk. Let's talk."

* * *

"...and that's why we need to make ramen..." explained Senku, gesturing with a twig to the bowl of ramen he had scratched out in dirt, "...to get the villagers' help in melting copper for the generator, and later on, glass..." he moved the twig to point at a cluster of stick figures, "to make eyeglasses for Suika..." he indicated a pair of glasses and a small stick figure with a watermelon head, "...so that she can see properly."

His canine audience, who had actually been commendably attentive almost the entire time, took a few steps closer to sniff at the stick figure with a watermelon head before barking in approval.

"So, will you let us make ramen now?" Senku pressed, wanting to make sure that there would be no more interruptions to their current project.

"Bark! Bark, bark!" Chalk exclaimed happily.

"Good," said Senku, giving him a nod, as well as one final treat, which Chalk was eager to accept.

_Even Chalk knows how important science is,_ Senku thought in satisfaction.

He got up from where he had been sitting on the ground, and he and the dog walked back to the others, who were just finishing with their initial bundles of foxtail grass. When he reached them, Senku greeted them and sat down in front of the rock he had been about to use earlier.

"Make sure to set aside the stems; we'll need them in a few days," he commented as he reached for several stalks from his bundle of foxtail grass, which either Chrome or Suika had thoughtfully weighed down with a piece of firewood to prevent the wind from blowing it away.

Before whacking the foxtail grass in his hand on the rock in front of him, Senku glanced at Chalk, who seemed to have no objections anymore, and, after sniffing everybody's foxtail grass bundles, curled up in front of Suika's rock and closed his eyes, reminding Senku of somebody else who also fell asleep after hearing about scientific principles.

* * *

(End of Chapter Twenty-Five.) (08/10/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** Hello everybody! I hope you're all healthy and staying safe! :) In the manga and anime, Chalk was NOT happy when they were whacking those foxtail grass stalks on rocks to extract the grains. But because of Senku's belief that scientific explanations can get through to anybody, and his and Chalk's shared fondness for Suika, they found a way to get along when it comes to ramen :D

**II. Question of the day:** How do you feel about Senku and Chalk's new understanding? :)

**III. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty-Five ("Displeased Canine")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


	26. (S01 E09j) Hunting Education

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)

* * *

**To my awesome reviewers (24/10/20):** Hello, DracoSoull, pikapika, Lu-chan 16Love, Guest (Sara), and Ishigami Tatiana! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the twenty-fifth chapter of No Stone Unturned! He noticed that they both tend to find science relaxing... maybe TOO relaxing... XD Back to this site and this fanfic! :) The food definitely helped Chalk feel satisfied and sleepy :D Chalk was a patient listener about the importance of science and glass... partly because of Senku's dried meat treats! :) Yup, that part of the manga was SUCH a wonderful arc for Senku and Kohaku! :D Thank you! :) I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six: (S01 E09j) ****Hunting Education**

* * *

For the next couple of days, Senku and the others worked on separating the foxtail grains from the stalks and fluff, and when that was finished, they spent the rest of the week using stone cylinders, almost like gigantic rolling pins, to crush the grains into foxtail millet flour.

Chrome, interestingly, had started waking up earlier than Senku and Suika to work on the ramen-related tasks, but had also started leaving the camp in the middle of the afternoon. The one time Senku had curiously asked why, Chrome's exaggerated nonchalance informed Senku of two things: that Chrome didn't want to talk about it, and that he was a really bad actor.

Truly nonchalant people weren't that twitchy.

The man's absences, though, did give Senku more time to analyze Suika's eyesight, since Senku had assigned her to be the quality checker for the ramen flour.

After they finished making the flour, they used bird eggs and potassium carbonate to turn it into dough and sliced that dough to make ramen noodles.

_Finally, the noodles are done__,_ thought Senku, wiping his brow with the back of his arm. _This felt like it took a really long time – things went by a lot faster when Chrome and Suika and I made the ramen with-_

"Kohaku!" Suika's excited voice interrupted his thoughts. "You're back!"

* * *

Ignoring the deer and boar that Kohaku held under each arm, Suika ran to her enthusiastically before wrapping her right leg in an excited hug. The woman immediately set the animals down on the ground before wrapping Suika in a happy embrace, smiling as she held the little girl close.

Several yards away, Senku saw Gen, who had a makeshift carrying pole behind his neck that held three rabbits on each side, trudging towards the camp. He looked both exhausted from his time in the woods… as well as extremely relieved to at last be with people who weren't Kohaku, judging by the slightly frantic looks he sent her way.

After giving Kohaku one last quick squeeze, Suika rolled off to greet Gen. Senku heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Chrome, who had been cooking lunch over the fire, eagerly come over to greet Kohaku as well. They exchanged a few murmured words Senku couldn't hear, and Kohaku gave Chrome a particularly warm smile, which Senku noted absently was the gentlest expression he had seen on her face since the day she had thanked him for saving her life.

In response, the man put his hand on her shoulder and said something to before walking past her to help carry what she had brought back to them.

Kohaku took a few more steps before coming to a stop a couple of feet in front of Senku.

"I'm back," she said, smiling as she gave him a small wave.

"Welcome back," replied Senku. She looked sleep-deprived, but happy. "Good job on your two-week sleepover with the mentalist… it looks like you guys got more than enough meat for the ramen."

She nodded.

"The boar was the best thing we caught. Not only is it more food for all of us, but I was also able to use it in a… demonstration." She bared her teeth in a grin that was almost vindictive.

_She really _**is**_ a lioness,_ thought Senku. _All she's missing are fangs._

To his surprise, after that, Kohaku immediately headed for the fire and curled up beside it for a nap.

_Yup, definitely a lioness._

* * *

Casting his eyes toward the others, Senku saw that Chrome and Suika were checking the animals. Leaving the task to them for now, he walked towards Gen, who was sitting on the ground and leaning against the base of the shed of science.

"It's over… it's finally over…" he heard Gen muttering to himself as he held his hand to his chest, taking several slow, deep breaths.

Sitting down beside Gen, Senku commented, "Are you that scared of hunting? It's not my favorite thing either, but we _**are**_ in a stone world now, so we all have to learn sooner or later…"

"Oh, I _**learned,**_ alright~" said Gen in a high voice that tried to sound casual, but completely failed to do so. "Don't hurt Kohaku-chan's sister. Don't even _**look**_ at Kohaku-chan's sister. Message received!"

"She talked to you about her sister?"

That was pretty surprising – Senku had been so sure that Kohaku had wanted Gen to know as little about Ruri as possible.

"No, not a single word. But if you experienced the same two horrible weeks that I did, then you'd know that was exactly what she meant!"

"What do you mean?"

The other man shuddered.

"Our first day in the forest, Kohaku-chan told me to run. When I asked her what she was talking about, she took out her weapons and started chasing me! Everyday for three days! She said that to be a good hunter, I should know how it feels to be hunted!"

_Know how it feels to be hunted?_ Senku mused. _Yeah, that does sound like a threat. But also…_

"Well, she's been hunting longer than either of us. Maybe that's a real thing they learn here."

"Then after we got the boar," babbled Gen, words spilling out of him as if he were venting about a traumatic event to a therapist, "she tripped me with a rope snare! I was swinging upside-down from a tree for six hours!"

Ah, rope snares. Senku remembered making those in the first month of his depetrification, after he had made sharp stone tools. That first bite of roasted meat had been delicious.

"Maybe she just wanted to teach you the importance of making proper rope snares. The animals can wriggle out of them if they're too loose, you know. That doesn't mean she was threatening you for sure."

Gen shot him a crazed look.

"Senku-chan, she looked _**right into my eyes**_ as she took her dagger and cut off that boar's-"

* * *

(End of Chapter Twenty-Six.) (24/10/20.)

* * *

**I. My personal comments:** Kohaku's finally back! :D And Gen... poor Gen... XD Kohaku actually did teach him normal hunting stuff too, like how to track animals, set up traps, and, most importantly, how to make the final blow as painless as possible and treat their bodies with respect :) (But there were a few... other... lessons also mixed in O.o)

**II. Question of the day:** What do you think of Kohaku's hunting lessons for Gen? XD

**III. A tiny request:** Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty-Six ("Hunting Education")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)


End file.
